In Canada we are ruled by law, not by those who enforce the law or wield government power. Council must abandon the idea that laws can be enforced selectively according to the whim or discretion of city staff or officials. Similarly, a law cannot be considered "temporary" unless it specifies an expiry date or condition. Here is another feature of Canadian law that's not about to change: A municipal government does not have legal authority to regulate cannabis per se. [continues 265 words]
When Ottawa recently announced a multi-pronged strategy to fight the deadly fentanyl crisis - a strategy that includes supervised drug consumption sites - Health Minister Jane Philpott boasted of "our renewed, evidence-based approach to Canada's drug strategy." If Ottawa is so keen on an evidence-based approach to drugs, why did it walk away from mediation aimed at settling a lawsuit calling on the government to provide needle exchanges in prisons? Mediation sessions were scheduled this week but Ottawa's lawyers backed out at the last minute. The lawsuit, brought in part by a former inmate who acquired hepatitis C behind bars, is going forward. [continues 348 words]
One woman relied on old needles used by her friend's diabetic husband. Another settled for whatever syringes she could find. But for the first time since they started using drugs several years ago, both women have access to fresh syringes. They are getting them through a needle exchange in Frankfort. "If you can have a new one every time, why wouldn't you?" asked the younger of the two women, who both spoke to the CJ on condition of anonymity for fear of being stigmatized or getting fired. "I think it's awesome that they're doing this. [continues 1730 words]
Machines may be used to give addicts access to clean supplies Ottawa Public Health is exploring a pilot project that would allow drug users to access clean needles and pipes from a vending machine. Deputy Medical Officer of Health Vera Etches said the idea goes back to 2013, when OPH hosted a needs assessment with feedback from community groups and police looking at service gaps. "Most services that distribute supplies so people will use sterile supplies each time and decrease their risk of transmission operate Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.," she said. "There's no place for people to access supplies overnight and on weekends." [continues 228 words]
Needle-dispensing vending machines could be installed at five locations across central Ottawa, making it the first city in Canada to offer sterile syringes in machines to reduce drug-related virus transmission. Vera Etches, the deputy medical officer of health, said Ottawa Public Health hasn't yet decided what material would be available in the vending machines, but needles and crack pipes are definite possibilities. The machines would fill a gap in service for drug users who need clean needles when a community program is closed for the day. There are no 24/7 services that provide clean needles. [continues 514 words]
The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre is submitting a request to be named as a safe injection site in Ottawa. Needle-dispensing vending machines could be installed at five locations across Ottawa, making it the first city in Canada to offer sterile syringes in machines to reduce drug-related virus transmission. Vera Etches, the deputy medical officer of health, said Ottawa Public Health hasn't yet decided what material would be available in the vending machines, but needles and crack pipes are definite possibilities. [continues 421 words]
[photo] Dr. Deepak Ariga holds a needle favored by drug users in Hammond on April 9, 2015. (Jim Karczewski, Post-Tribune) An HIV outbreak in Scott County, Ind., has infected 106 people. Can needle exchanges stem the tide? An HIV outbreak in Scott County, Ind., has infected 106 people thus far, and despite reservations, Gov. Mike Pence green-lit a 30-day needle exchange program to stem the tide. But public health advocates say the exchange program should be extended to really make an impact and expanded across the state as such programs have been shown to be effective in stemming the tide of HIV and hepatitis C infection among IV drug users. [continues 1235 words]
[photo] A sign points to the entrance the Community Outreach Center in Austin, Ind., on April 4, 2015. (Tyler Stewart, AP) State and local health officials began a needle-exchange program Saturday in a southeastern Indiana county where an HIV outbreak among intravenous drug users has grown to nearly 90 cases. Scott County's needle-exchange program was created through an emergency executive order signed last week by Gov. Mike Pence in an attempt to curb the state's largest-ever HIV outbreak. That 30-day order temporarily suspended Indiana's ban on such programs, but only for the southeastern Indiana county about 30 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky. [continues 200 words]
Heavy with needle users, London could move a step closer in February to a supervised injection site for drug-addicted residents amid renewed debate about the idea. The results of a feasibility study that surveyed 200 current and former needle users, as well as police, politicians, and social service and health agency representatives, is to be released in early February, Christopher Mackie, the Middlesex-London medical officer of health, said Wednesday. That study won't suggest a location or timeline to establish a site, but one area Conservative MP already is raising the alarm about the possibility. [continues 448 words]
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]
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 new program has started up to help tackle the city's discarded needle problem. In the realm of tongue-twisting health acronyms, CHANGE is one of the worst offenders. It stands for Community, Harm Reduction, Needle Pickup, Guidance and Education, and it's the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region's newest strategy to reduce discarded needles in the community. Formed late this September, the CHANGE team goes to "hotspots" for IV drug use, places where large numbers of discarded syringes tend to litter public places. [continues 548 words]
SURREY - After having to end its needle pickup program after a loss in funding, Lookout Emergency Aid Society has temporarily revived the program. The peer-led Rig Dig program, which began in 2006, came to a halt on Sept. 9 came after the society was unsuccessful in its bid for $44,000 in gaming grant funding this year. But it has been announced that Lookout Foundation has granted $10,000 out of an emergency fund to restore the program this week, enough to keep it running until the end of March 17, according to a release. [continues 413 words]
Peer-based education, disposal, overdoses and treatment options part of new plan Drug use was a topic Melanie Sinclair hoped to avoid discussing with her kids for a few more years. But an evening visit to a Maple Ridge mall changed that. Her husband took their seven-year-old son to the bathroom and found it strangely busy. "There were people sitting on the floor in the stalls," said Sinclair. "I can guess they were using drugs." Her husband decided to use the family bathroom - usually reserved for parents with young children - and found a sharps container almost overflowing with used needles. When he informed staff about the full box, he was told it had been replaced 30 minutes earlier. [continues 516 words]
Unlimited distribution, but no pick-up As part of its harm reduction strategy, Fraser Health offers an unlimited supply of needles to intravenous drug users. But the local health authority does not recover those needles once they've been used - - a fact which has become more evident in Langley parks, streets, at the doorways of businesses and on trails and even school grounds throughout the Township and City. A sharps disposal box and its spilled contents was found near the Cascades Casino parkade recently, and a needle stabbed into the grass at Douglas Park was pictured from August on the Langley City Crime Watch Facebook page. [continues 467 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]
Advocates Say Clean Paraphernalia for Inmates Will Curb Blood-Borne Illness Rates in Prison, but Correctional Staff Say They're Unsafe The availability of illicit drugs in B.C. prisons underscores the need for needle exchanges to curb the transmission of blood-borne illnesses behind bars, civil liberties advocates say, but correctional staff are strongly opposed to the idea, arguing that the increased availability of clean needles could do more harm than good. Marijuana is the most commonly seized intoxicant from federal prisons in British Columbia, with 225 seizures from eight sites between January, 2010, and June of this year, according to records obtained by The Globe and Mail under freedom of information legislation. [continues 582 words]
It's a rare occurrence for Cochrane park users to stumble across strewn syringes and hypodermic needles in a public area. Needless to say, it created concern for soccer player Lucy Lovelock when she came across a scattered pile of such paraphernalia in the soccer field parking lot in community of GlenEagles the evening of Aug. 2. "I have no issues with what people do in their private lives, but it concerns me to find this in a public area used by kids all the time," said the mother of two, who contacted Cochrane Fire Services to dispose of the mess. [continues 125 words]
The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department will soon begin a local needle exchange program aimed at preventing intravenous drug users from contracting HIV or Hepatitis C. The health board voted unanimously Thursday in support of starting a program which will be administered at two local sites. Both the Talbot Center, a drug addiction recovery center in East Toledo, and St. Paul United Methodist Church downtown have agreed to be access points for the exchanges, said Kelly Burkholder-Allen, acting director of health services. [continues 553 words]
