CRACK USERS NEED 'PUSH STICKS'

The Sticks Will Benefit Users And Reduce The Number Of Discarded
Syringes As Well

B.C.'s harm reduction committee suggests handing out wooden "push
sticks" to crack users in an effort to reduce the number of discarded
needles.

Harm Reduction Strategies and Services committee members found that
addicts use plungers from syringes to push and position the crack
inside the pipes, while the rest of the syringe and needle was
discarded. Harm reduction service providers in Vancouver estimated
that one in five syringes distributed may be used for the plunger only.

The committee examined the risks and benefits of providing wooden push
sticks, noting that this would reduce the number of discarded needles
and would eliminate the toxins from melted plastic on the syringe
plungers. They also anticipated a cost savings as craft sticks are
cheaper than needles and syringes.

The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority is the only region already
supplying push sticks to addicts. Distribution in Nanaimo can only
come from the direction of the Vancouver Island Health Authority,
which previously received flak from the public about its harm
reduction approach in the Harbour City.

VIHA has said any new approaches would not be implemented without
thorough consultation with the public.

"(Push sticks) would reduce the number of needles that are taken for
the sole purpose of using the inside of the syringe," said Jane
Buxton, harm reduction lead at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control,
the provincial body responsible for distribution of harm reduction
products. "I'm not sure it would save an abundance of money, but it's
not just the money, it's the discarded needles."

Crack smoking has increased significantly in the past decade. First
developed in the 1970s, the drug is now readily available to addicts.
The Vancouver Injection Drug Users Survey found that addicts had used
crack much more than 10 years earlier, almost doubling from about 32%
in 1997 to more than 60% in 2004.

The high number of users indicates that there are many more needles
tossed away than before.

Addicts need the push sticks, according to staff at the Nanaimo Needle
Exchange on Cavan Street. But any decision to distribute them must
come from VIHA.

Push sticks will help, but the real demand is for crack pipes, said
Sandy McLean, a registered nurse at Nanaimo Needle Exchange. The need
for pipes shows up on the faces of addicts visiting the health clinic
designed to support the city's marginalized population. McLean sees
open sores and burn marks on the lips of crack smokers.

"A lot of them that function well enough are aware of the transmission
of HIV and Hep C and they ask for the pipes," she said. "We don't want
to give them out because we think its fun, it's because of the health
risk to these people."

Crack has become far more accessible. Price and availability have
caused the spread of the drug, according to McLean.