COCAINE, TS AND RS STILL DRUGS OF CHOICE The latest report on drug users in Regina shows that cocaine, Talwin and Ritalin remain the drugs of choice, but that crystal meth has gained a foothold on the streets. "The drugs most commonly used for injection were cocaine, Ritalin, Talwin or a combination of the two, and the non-injection drugs used were alcohol followed by marijuana," said Dr. Maurice Hennink, the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region's deputy medical officer. "In the injection drug use findings, about eight per cent reported using crystal meth, while in the non-injection drug use crystal meth was reported in about 14 per cent. So crystal meth is part and parcel of the various drugs that are being used, but the larger finding is that cocaine and 'Ts and Rs' still tend to be the more prominent featured drugs that are used," Hennink said. Of the 250 Regina drug users surveyed, 55 per cent were male and 50 per cent were 34 years or younger. "So we are looking really at a younger population," Hennink said, explaining that 32 per cent of the intravenous drug users surveyed for the study reported they started injecting drugs when they were 16 or younger. "The mean age of first injection drug use was about 20 years of age." About 87 per cent of the injection drug users in Regina identified themselves as aboriginal,and 98 per cent called Regina home, although one in four had lived elsewhere in the six months prior to the interview that occurred in the spring of 2005. Injection drug users were most likely to shoot up with close friends, family members and with partners in sexual relationships, Hennink said, explaining the study also looked at the sexual behaviour of injection drug users. It found there was a high use of condoms during intercourse, but that practice dropped off if the drug user engaged in oral sex. "When sexual activity took place outside a relationship as a client-partner where there was some sort of reward -- either money, goods or drugs -- then condom use was very high in both males and females. "That was something that was noted, because in casual sexual encounters protective measures are important and the participants reported doing that," Hennink said. The majority reported being tested at least once for HIV and the Hepatitis C virus and volunteered to participate in a needle-prick blood test. "We found about 2.4 per cent tested positive for both HIV and Hepatitis C. Another 2.9 per cent or seven individuals were HIV positive, while 58 per cent tested positive for Hepatitis C. "That's a significant number who are Hep C positive," Hennink said. While Regina's HIV rates are low compared with centres like Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver where 15 to 18 per cent of injection drug users are HIV positive, the rate of Hep C infections are as high as in other centres, the report noted. "With such a high number of drug users with Hepatitis C the medical implications for the individual as well as the system are significant," Hennink said. The 2005 report by the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region is part of a national multi-centre study funded by Health Canada which examines injection drug user prevalence, drug use and sexual behaviour. The region has been tracking injection drug use in the city since 2002-03, Hennink said, noting that the next survey, to be conducted in 2007-08, will determine any trends and the effectiveness of the city's drug use harm-reduction program.
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