A Needle Exchange Program operates in several sites across the county in Clinton, Seaforth and Goderich. In Clinton it is offered through the Huron County Health Unit, in Goderich it is offered through Choices For Change and in Seaforth it is through Dr. Datema's Methadone clinic. However, the Health Unit in Clinton is used the most due to its accessibility. The health unit's website states: "Like all health units in Ontario, the Huron County Health Unit offers a needle exchange program at several sites across the county. [continues 322 words]
After over a year of waiting for a needle exchange, the Clark County Health Department will open its syringe exchange at the end of January. The needle exchange, located at 1301 Akers Ave. in Jeffersonville, will start Jan. 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and be open each Thursday from then on. Dr. Kevin Burke, the Clark County health commissioner, said he hopes the program will eventually provide services two days a week and operate the needle exchange at other locations. [continues 625 words]
The state's medical marijuana program has been up and running for nearly eight months, and now some lawmakers are looking to expand the program in 2017. Eleven Legislative Service Requests (LSRs) for the upcoming session -- requests submitted by legislators to have bills drafted -- relate to therapeutic cannabis. Rep. Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, is sponsoring a measure to allow patients to cultivate therapeutic cannabis for their own use. The idea was a sticking point in the original debate about starting a program here. Gov. Maggie Hassan and the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police opposed a grow-your-own provision, so the law was passed without it. [continues 405 words]
These life-saving places that promote public health will mostly be in existing centres A woman uses the public bathroom of a Toronto community centre to inject heroin. She figures it's safer than injecting on the street - it's clean and she won't be robbed. And if she overdoses, she hopes someone will find her soon enough to help her. This scenario is a reality for many users, and it's just one of many reasons Toronto is working toward opening the three supervised drug injection services that were approved by Toronto city council in July 2016. [continues 714 words]
Auntie's founder convinced of weed's medicinal abilities A medical marijuana dispensary operating in Bible Hill is making access easier for people who require it, clients say. The dispensary, called Auntie's Health and Wellness Center, is also beneficial because it offers medicinal cannabis in more forms and wider variety than conventional methods. "I believe people should have direct access to their medication. And they don't," said Auntie's founder Shirley Martineau. She said people who genuinely need marijuana are often forced to acquire it illegally, "and they don't know what they are getting." [continues 381 words]
A Kelowna safe injection site should be up and running by April, although what it will look like remains to be seen. Interior Health proposed two potential options last week - a fixed injection site at 477 Leon Ave. as well as a mobile site - and now they're embarking on the final community engagement process. The final phase of the application will be submitted to Health Canada once that's over, said Dr.Trevor Corneil, chief medical health officer with Interior Health, adding that the federal minister of health has offered every indication they want to move swiftly. [continues 602 words]
To the editor: I can certainly understand the initial negative reaction that many people would have towards the idea of safe injection sites. It seems like a counter-intuitive initiative that enables addicts instead of helping them. Additionally, it's fair to worry that providing services to addicts normalizes illegal drug-use, opposed to affirming the idea that it's a problem. However, as an educated society with endless access to a wealth of information, it's important for us to put aside our emotional response, at least long enough to analyze the facts. [continues 452 words]
Toronto has seen a 77-per-cent increase in overdose deaths between 2004 and 2014 Brooklyn McNeil was an Ontario scholar, singer, artist and harm reduction advocate. But the 22-year-old woman was also an injection drug addict who sadly died alone in June beside a dumpster in an east-end alley. It shouldn't have happened that way. McNeil was at the forefront of the movement to bring safe injection sites to Toronto, something that could have saved her life. [continues 373 words]
Health officials in Lucas County are working to get the area's first needle exchange program up and running by the spring. Health officials in Lucas County are working to get the area's first needle exchange program up and running by the spring, adding another weapon to their arsenal in the fight against the heroin and opioid epidemic. Toledo will be the last large metro area in Ohio to adopt such an exchange. Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati all have them, as do the smaller cities of Dayton and Portsmouth. Such programs aim to decrease the likelihood of spreading HIV or hepatitis C among users who share needles. [continues 1072 words]
A mobile supervised drug-use service is being considered for Kamloops. Locations and stops would be determined based on overdose and substance-use data, as well as feedback from those who would use it. The Interior Health Authority wants feedback from the public. Input can be submitted online at interiorhealth.ca. Search for "Supervised Consumption Services," which is located under Medical Health Officers under the "About Us" tab. Feedback must be submitted by Dec. 15. Health Minister Terry Lake said the service is needed because it saves lives. In all of 2015, Kamloops had seven overdose deaths. By the end of October this year, there had been 31 such deaths. [continues 340 words]
Opioid crisis draws attention to supervised drug-use sites, but Manitoba's not interested - so far A DECADE ago, fentanyl, the killer synthetic opioid that can be 100 times more potent than morphine, was a relatively unknown drug. Today, it's everywhere - and it's at the heart of a national crisis claiming the lives of hundreds of Canadians. In Manitoba, at least two dozen people have died from opioid overdoses in 2016, nine confirmed to be caused by or related to fentanyl. It's a dangerous drug that many people don't even know they're taking: it's often showing up in other illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin. [continues 1262 words]
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A group pushing to legalize medical marijuana in North Dakota is making a last-minute advertising push thanks to a surprise donation from a national organization, North Dakota Compassionate Care, which is sponsoring an initiated measure on the state's ballot, quickly organized the ad campaign after receiving $15,000 last week from Drug Policy Action, said group spokeswoman Anita Morgan. DPA is the political arm of a group that advocates for the overhaul of drug laws. [continues 282 words]
Drake Smith knew he was going to overdose. He was in a bathroom downtown. His friends had told him to only do half a hit, but if you only do half, he said, you can't get the same rush. So he did the whole thing. The heroin was laced with fentanyl, an opioid up to 100 times stronger than heroin. It doesn't take much to overdose. A dose the weight of a grain of sand can bring on a heroin-like high. A dose the weight of two grains of sand can kill a healthy adult. [continues 1191 words]
There's an addiction crisis: Morality has no place here. This is a health issue. Period. As Hamiltonians begin to debate the possibility of introducing safe injection sites in our city, it is important to understand that Canada and the United States are in the grips of an addiction crisis like we have never seen in our history. This problem is complex; it is not going to go away easily, and it is not going to be defeated by punishing addicts. [continues 758 words]
BOSTON - The surge in deaths from drug overdoses has become an unexpected lifeline for people waiting for organ transplants, turning tragedy for some into salvation for others. As more people die from overdoses than ever before, their organs - donated in advance by them or after the fact by their families - are saving lives of people who might otherwise die waiting for a transplant. When Dave and Roxanne Maleham got the call in June that they had long dreaded - that their son, Matt, 38, was on life support after overdosing on heroin and fentanyl - they talked about donating his organs. [continues 1432 words]
Columnists Brent Stafford and Garth Mullins battle over the issues of the day. The Duel Prescription heroin for addiction treatment in B.C.? It's about time As hundreds die from fentanyl overdoses, Health Canada has ended Harper's ban on prescription heroin. And it's about time. There's a fatal overdose every 12 hours in B.C. Over the years, I've had to resuscitate four people and known dozens who've died. For people deep in addiction, medical treatment with heroin is much safer than adulterated, often-lethal street drugs. It reduces harm to the community too. [continues 342 words]
People who buy pot from medical marijuana dispensaries can still be charged criminally, even though the City of Victoria has implemented regulations for the storefronts, warns a local defence lawyer. Last month, Chantelle Sutton represented a Victoria man who bought marijuana at a local dispensary in August 2015. After a brief trial, Leslie Ian Hall was convicted of possessing marijuana. But Hall was handed an absolute discharge when the judge found Hall honestly believed he could legally buy marijuana with a doctor's prescription and his membership with the Vancouver Island Compassion Society. [continues 460 words]
A bright yellow bin, about the size of a mailbox but taller, is now positioned on the edge of the Junction Creek trail near Hnatyshyn Park. The sunny hue, however, belies the gravity of its contents and the issue it's mean to address. The receptacle also boasts a biohazard symbol, and is there to contain used drug needles that might otherwise be left on the ground and cause a prick wound and possible infection. It appeared within the last week, and in the wake of concerns raised in late July about the dangers of discarded syringes. [continues 466 words]
Hamilton will join the vanguard of Ontario cities studying whether to give drug users a legal, supervised site to inject opioids such as heroin. The board of health voted Monday to study supervised injection sites - so long as the cost fits within the 2017 budget. But the panel asked for emphasis on public consultation in areas that could host such a centre. The vote was one of several Monday that will move the city from laggard to provincial pioneer in public health "harm reduction" strategies, including a decision to offer free, clean crack pipes and potentially expanding distribution of anti-overdose kits. [continues 607 words]
In the discussion about Canadian drug policy, the unspoken question is: Why should we take care of drug addicts? I have had to ask myself this because my job is taking care of people with drug dependence and mental illness in the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver's notoriously drug and disease-ridden inner city. What does society gain from assisting people who engage in illegal activity, who bring their diseases and, with increasing prevalence, their death, upon themselves? I am a McGill and UBC-trained family and emergency physician, and have practised in Canada, the United States and West Africa. I have delivered babies, treated trauma victims, managed chronic disease, and comforted dying people. [continues 1815 words]
