Pubdate: Wed, 25 Feb 2015
Source: Cowichan Valley Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Cowichan Valley Citizen
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/cowichanvalleycitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4349
Author: Lexi Bainas

ISLAND HEALTH FOCUSED ON HARM REDUCTION

Dealing with harm reduction for substance abusers involves far more
than just taking away their drugs, North Cowichan council learned recently.

Island Health's Central Island medical health officer Dr. Paul
Hasselback and harm reduction coordinator Griffin Russell answered a
request for information from North Cowichan and made a presentation at
a council meeting.

Russell said that the idea of harm reduction is not
new.

"Our first methadone program started in Canada in 1964. We've
progressed through different harm reduction programs across the
country since that time. Following on the heels of the Netherlands in
1984, Vancouver opened its first fixed-site needle exchange in 1989,
followed by Victoria in 1996. Since then health authorities have
continued to offer a variety of harm reduction activities both in
fixed sites, and in outreach and mobile capacities," he explained.

Addressing these issues is often providing service to "stigmatized,
marginalized and vulnerable folks in our communities," Russell said.

Hasselback said that harm reduction has been deemed by the courts to
be "a form of health service" especially when seen as part of a
continuum of services for people dealing with substance abuse.

Locally, Island Health has taken action.

"We do have a variety of harm reduction sites that provide services
within the Cowichan Valley. They've been in place for some time. They
include a variety of materials like safer sex supplies, injection
equipment and safer drug-smoking tips.

"We are talking about expansion of the distribution of glass stems,
which is a bit of a hot point yet I would say it's no different from
any other activity we enter into when we're talking harm reduction,"
he said.

"The glass stems are becoming a normalized function of what we
consider to be necessary in order to provide help to those users who
are still smoking," Hasselback said.

Vancouver Island has its issues and he wanted councillors to know
about them.

"On Vancouver Island we have seen a spike in overdose deaths occurring
in the last year, year and a half. That is extremely close to home,
not here but close enough that I'm concerned about that."

The situation arises from people cutting into heroin supplies with
phentenol, which, he said, "is a much more potent drug when it's
injected as heroin," causing overdoses.

"The result has been that we've seen some very tragic outcomes even
quite recently, in B.C. and on the Island specifically," Hasselback
said.

"We do have a need for an increased access to methadone, which is a
form of narcotic treatment over a long period of time." The methadone
program continues to grow on the Island at a rate of about five per
cent per year, he said.

"This is a reflection of individuals who have had narcotic habituation
issues and are trying to get off that habit. We still have a need for
expansion of those services right here in the Valley
specifically."

However, even with that, hepatitis C is a greater concern, Hasselback
said.

But all this is only one component of substance use.

"About two to three per cent of the population are habituated to some
form of substance on an ongoing basis," he said.

However, many remain functional and contributing to society without
being able to rid themselves of a habit they've been carrying from an
earlier period in their lives.

"They often benefit most from harm reduction activities. But it's all
part of a continuum that Griffin has alluded to. We'd all like to
eliminate substance abuse, but it's not an easy thing to achieve,"
Hasselback said, adding that while the people who do not suffer from
the problem may think a solution is fairly simple, "that's not what's
happening out there in our communities. We need to acknowledge that."

Coun. Rob Douglas later asked Hasselback about the idea of prescribing
heroin.

The health officer replied that in Vancouver there is a test going on,
involving people who do want to cease dependence.

However, he said, "It's not the best of options. The quality and
quantity of drugs available are really variable."

If you find a needle or a glass stem, Russell advised people to call
the local public health unit for advice on how to dispose of it.
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MAP posted-by: Matt