Pubdate: Sat, 10 Dec 2016
Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 The Hamilton Spectator
Contact:  http://www.thespec.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Author: Molly Hayes
Page: A4

COUNCIL GIVES NOD TO STUDY INJECTION SITES

City councillors have given public health the green light to study the
possibility of bringing safe injection sites to Hamilton.

The pitch for such a study was first made to the Board of Health
earlier this year, in light of a deadly opioid crisis that has led to
a spike in overdoses across the country.

In Ontario, where overdose deaths are the third-leading cause of
accidental death, someone dies of an overdose every 13 hours.

"These are entirely preventable deaths," says Dr. Jessica Hopkins,
associate medical officer of health.

The Hamilton study was initially estimated to cost $250,000, but after
some councillors expressed concern about the cost, public health staff
established a partnership with McMaster University to get that cost
down to $92,000.

Hopkins explained at Friday's General Issues Committee (GIC) meeting
that students will help conduct the research - a process that will
begin in the new year and likely go until early 2018.

In order to even be considered for a safe injection site, a
municipality must apply for an exemption under the federal
government's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act - a tedious,
paperwork-heavy endeavour. Mayor Fred Eisenberger agreed the study is
a "prudent step" to take in the face of a crisis, particularly in
light of the growing presence of fentanyl on our streets.

The potent painkiller, 100 times stronger than morphine, is typically
prescribed in a patch. But bootleg versions - in powder and liquid
form, as well as mixed into other drugs - have been popping up on the
streets in unpredictable potencies. Of the province's staggering 685
opioid-related deaths last year, 162 of them were specifically linked
to fentanyl. In Hamilton alone there were 19 fentanyl deaths last year
(up from 10 in 2014).

This fall, the city put out a survey to residents, asking for their
views on safer injection sites. Of 1,690 respondents, 84 per cent said
they would be supportive of having supervised injection sites here in
Hamilton.

A site could either be a standalone service, or it could be integrated
into existing harm reduction services offered in the city. Another
option, Hopkins explained Friday, would be to offer mobile sites that
could travel across the city based on need.

Drug use is a city-wide problem, Hopkins says, and no specific
location has been identified yet for a site - though she noted that
data from the needle retrieval program does show that the majority of
discarded needles are found downtown in wards 2 and 3.

Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Green, who has been a vocal advocate of safe
injection sites, stressed de facto injection sites already exist in
secret across the city.
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MAP posted-by: Matt