Several years ago at a public forum, I found myself sitting in front of Mayor John Daniels. I took the opportunity to ask him what he thought was the greatest legacy of his administration. He responded that community policing would have been his greatest legacy but that the city had all but abandoned it. Fortunately this approach to law enforcement has since been restored. Mayor Daniels said that the city's needle-exchange program had been his greatest single gift to the city. This program, which he had first opposed and ultimately embraced, was shown by a landmark Yale Public Health study to have reduced new AIDS infections in New Haven (80 percent of which were transmitted by hypodermic needles) by a third. The level of trust created by not being subject to arrest by participating also provided an opportunity for health professionals to refer addicts to drug rehabilitation programs that they might otherwise not have known about or been open to considering. [continues 97 words]
The People's Harm Reduction Alliance is one of the most daring and innovative needle exchanges in the country. And it's run by users. Five years ago, they started giving out crack stems. Now they're expanding services for methamphetamine users. On a sunny afternoon the first week of March, in an alley behind the University District post office, volunteers for the People's Harm Reduction Alliance needle exchange open the doors, set up their outreach table, and begin another afternoon's work. [continues 3355 words]
Queen St., just west of Dufferin, outlines a sharp edge of roughness in my neighbourhood; here, you watch where you step. On a recent morning, I found evidence of hard drinking on the sidewalk - use your imagination; evidence of hard sex - use your imagination; and evidence of hard partying, in the form of a forlorn scarf of blue feathers fluttering on the pavement. I was on my way to the community health centre where there is evidence of much that is good in Parkdale: a free dental clinic; the help of various physicians, social workers, physiotherapists; and specific care for things such as diabetes or sore feet. And a needle exchange. I was not there to exchange needles. [continues 510 words]
La Crosse County leaders fighting the local heroin epidemic credit a life-saving drug with eliminating fatal overdoses. No heroin users died in 2014, thanks in large part to the availability and skyrocketing use of Narcan, the antidote for an opiate overdose. Two people died in 2013 and five in 2012 of accidental heroin overdoses, La Crosse County Medical Examiner Tim Candahl said. Nationally, heroin deaths surged 39 percent in 2013 in 8,260, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [continues 304 words]
More than 1.8 million clean needles distributed over past four years Nearly half a million needles were handed out in Calgary last year as uptake of safe injection services offered through Alberta Health Services' Safeworks program continues to rise. According to AHS data provided to Metro, 499,086 needles were distributed through the harm-reduction program in Calgary last year, an increase of roughly 27 per cent from the 390,285 handed out in 2011. Debbie Newman, executive director with the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre, which offers a needle-exchange program to its clients through Safeworks, said the increase is encouraging, on the whole. [continues 325 words]
The number of clean needles handed out to drug users by Alouette Addictions has more than doubled this year, from 18,000 to 50,000. That doesn't mean, though, that the number of drug users has jumped by that amount. "What we're seeing is that people are becoming more aware of the service. People are becoming more aware of their health," and are exchanging the needles to keep themselves and the streets cleaner, said Annika Polegato, executive-director of Alouette Addictions Services. [continues 980 words]
Retired Air Force Capt. Jeff Lahman served 25 years in the Air Force, including time in special ops. He ended up with a series of injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He and his wife, also an Air Force officer, lived in Arizona. He was prescribed a large dose of oxycodone and other painkillers. Those prescription medicines brought him to a new low. A doctor suggested he try medical marijuana. He did and it changed his life. He was himself again. His wife saw the difference. Just last year, Lahman moved to Florida. He is a strong supporter of Amendment 2 because it would allow him to legally consult a Florida doctor about using medical marijuana. [continues 448 words]
The subject of your article "Hooked. Terrified. Trapped." is another needless victim of the woefully misplaced war on drugs. Instead of getting this student the help he needed for treatment of his drug addiction, campus security coerced him into becoming a police informant. I hope the University of Massachusetts Amherst uses this unnecessary tragedy to recognize that substance use among college students is a public health issue and not a matter for the criminal justice system. Dr. Mark Eisenberg Brookline [end]
Ask yourselves how much sense this makes and how much good this does for our society. Millions of young people are being convicted of drug felonies in our country. They are then excluded from federal financial aid for college, cannot join the military, are excluded from most government employment, and they wear this brand of being a felon for the rest of their lives, which devastates their employment in private industry for life. These people often turn their lives around but struggle to make a decent living and struggle even more if they marry and have families. They often find themselves with car problems, behind on rent, needing school clothes or needing birthday presents for their kids like everyone else. They have but one way to earn good money and that is to sell drugs. What do you expect them to do? The law enforcement/prison industry expects them to re-offend and continue contributing to their lucrative industry that they have carefully crafted for themselves by buying influence to place such counter-productive (to society) laws on the books from our ever-so-ready-to prostitute themselves politicians. [continues 78 words]
Drug users shouldn't be given clean needles. It only encourages them, you see. It's that kind of misguided, short-sighted thinking that leads to bans on needle exchanges and other harm reduction measures in communities. Abbotsford went down that ill-advised road in 2005. In 2010, the Fraser Health Authority (FHA) urged the city to reconsider, citing among its concerns Abbotsford's hepatitis C infection rate, which was higher than regional, provincial and national averages. Earlier this year, Abbotsford council did the right thing and rescinded the bylaw. [continues 303 words]
A needle exchange ban may be lifted in Mission. - Record file photo Needle exchange facilities in Mission have been operating for years despite a district bylaw prohibiting the activity. Now, Mission council is considering lifting the five-year-old ban in order to support harm-reduction strategies and protect the community's vulnerable drug users. Drug overdose rates in Mission are two times higher than the provincial average, according to statistics from Fraser Health, and the medical health officer for the Fraser East region hopes to reach out and help more people by increasing needle exchange services. [continues 633 words]
Two-thirds of syringes handed out through program not returned, Region of Waterloo Public Health says WATERLOO REGION - The region's head of infectious disease says there's little risk someone in the community will accidentally jab themselves with a needle tossed away by a drug user and become ill. A recent report by Region of Waterloo Public Health noted nearly 307,500 syringes were handed out through their needle syringe program and just under 103,200 - about a third - were returned. Going back to 2009, nearly 441,400 of the free needles given out over five years were not returned. [continues 334 words]
Clean, Safe And Addressing A Growing Need Clean needles keep everyone safe. The Huron County Health Unit is still working with community partners to implement a new needle exchange program. The program has been in place in the county since November, when it was passed at the Board of Health. While there are a couple locations for intravenous drug users to get and return clean needles currently in the county, the need for increased accessible service is still very prevalent. Prior to the implementation of a local program, Huron County users were traveling to Middlesex and Perth counties for needles and supplies. While it is not an exact number, Public Health Nurse at the HCHU, Shelley Spence, said county residents used between 5,000- 10,000 needles a month - mostly obtained at exchange clinics in London. [continues 414 words]
Clean Needles Keep Everyone Safe. The Huron County Health Unit is still working with community partners to implement a new needle exchange program. The program has been in place in the county since November, when it was passed at the Board of Health. While there are a couple locations for intravenous drug users to get and return clean needles currently in the county, the need for increased accessible service is still very prevalent. Prior to the implementation of a local program, Huron County users were traveling to Middlesex and Perth counties for needles and supplies. While it is not an exact number, Public Health Nurse at the HCHU, Shelley Spence, said county residents used between 5,000-10,000 needles a month - mostly obtained at exchange clinics in London. [continues 415 words]
Numbers Up More Than 50 Per Cent Demand for the Aids Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador's needle-exchange program has increased considerably in the past two years, says its executive director. "We are looking at a 50-60 per cent increase in two years," Gerard Yetman said. "The program is not feasible as it is right now. "The present program is not meeting the demand." In 2011-12, the program distributed nearly 180,000 clean needles, but numbers have surpassed twice that amount, in part because it's become provincial. [continues 349 words]
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont library is resorting to locking its public restrooms to curb a persistent problem of drug paraphernalia clogging the drains. Burlington's Fletcher Free Library hopes to have locksmiths complete the work this week. Library officials say the bathrooms on the mezzanine level of the library were closed three weeks ago for the third time after needles and other drug paraphernalia clogged the drains. The Burlington Free Press reports that once the locks are installed, library patrons will have to exchange their library card or other identification for a key to the bathrooms. That policy mirrors one already in place for using the handicapped-accessible restroom. The clogged drains were noticed before they could cause water damage to the bathrooms. [end]
SACRAMENTO (AP) - The Assembly voted Thursday to make permanent a program that allows pharmacies to sell syringes to drug users as a way to prevent diseases spread by needle-sharing. AB1743 by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, passed on a largely party-line, 43-26 vote and heads to the Senate. The bill also removes a 30-syringe limit, making California the 46th state to allow for bulk syringe sales. Ting's office estimates a 100-syringe box can cost about $30, while a single syringe is less than a dollar. [continues 366 words]
The first time I ever saw someone shoot up was about nine years ago. It was in a public washroom downtown. The door of their bathroom stall was ajar and her reflection was in front of me as I washed my hands. I didn't want to see it, it was just there. She was just there, with a syringe in her arm and a haunted, empty look on her face. It startled me when her bag fell onto the floor and some of the contents fell out and slid near my feet. It was girl stuff, like flavoured lip gloss. She didn't move. I don't think she even realized I was there. I gathered my stuff and left the washroom quickly. [continues 583 words]
EDITOR: It has come to my attention that there is a law in California that allows pharmacies to sell up to 30 syringes and needles to anyone 18 or older. The pharmacy is not required to check ID or keep a log of purchasers. I have witnessed kids going into a chain pharmacy in Rincon Valley and buying syringes and needles. No questions asked. No ID required. The kids I saw were clearly younger than 18. As one who worked as a professional in the addictions field, I'm blown away. Injecting drugs intravenously is a path to a serious addiction. Heroin, opiates, opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and some others can be taken intravenously. Intravenous drug users have the hardest time kicking their addiction. The addictive behavior is not confined to the feeling the drug produces, the ritual of "shooting up" is addictive as well. The law must require those who buy syringes and needles to register and provide proof that they are indeed adults. This law is poorly thought out and has the potential to cause many heartbreaks and destruction of many young lives. Santa Rosa [end]
The House voted Friday to expand Baltimore City's needle exchange program, but not before members debated whether giving addicts access to more clean syringes could aggravate growing heroin use in the state. The measure, which passed 84-51, would lift the "one-for-one" restriction on swapping clean for used needles under the exchange program run the past 20 years by the city's Health Department. About 2,500 people have obtained 500,000 new syringes that way, reducing the risks of transmitting HIV and other blood-borne infections through the sharing of needles. [end]
