BURLINGTON DRUG USERS GET CLEAN NEEDLES

Drug users in Burlington and other Halton centres are about to get
their own free needle exchange program in September. Only a few of the
estimated 700 drug users in Halton seek out clean needles from similar
programs operated in Hamilton or Mississauga.

Drug use and the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C are low compared to
urban centres such as Hamilton and Toronto.

But health officials say now is the time to stem disease transmission
through the use or sharing of dirty needles -- before the problem
becomes serious as Halton grows.

Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton's medical officer of health, said the needle
exchange not only reduces the risk of disease among drug users, but
also among the general public. "Fewer needles are discarded in parks,
schoolyards, washrooms, and other public places. In addition, sex
partners of injection drug users are less likely to become infected."

The $40,000 project got the nod at Halton's health and social services
committee yesterday and is expected to pass at Halton council next
Wednesday.

Burlington councillor Jack Dennison, however, said, "It really hurts
me that we're providing the needles to whoever is buying illicit drugs."

Milton councillor Rick Malboeuf was also unenthusiastic, but added,
"We have to pull our heads out of the sand and get on with it."

Authorities say information on injection drug use in Halton is
limited, but the experience of workers in the field and a recent
student drug survey point to a potential problem.Health staff
extrapolated from the survey that slightly more than 400 students
injected drugs in the past year.

Health department nurse Jean Clipsham believes the estimates are
conservative because drug injection is "a really secretive activity."

MacLeod, however, said the estimates show people suffer addictions in
Halton just like anywhere else. Drug use is not restricted to any age
group, culture or economic strata. It covers rich and poor, young and
old, parents and grandparents, she said.

The addicted could easily be "our neighbours, the people who line up
with us at the grocery stores, who we pass on the street."

MacLeod, an AIDs volunteer, and member of a needle exchange task force
in Halton, said she had a hard time getting beyond her bias that
Halton is a healthy and relatively drug-free community.

But she know feels Halton hasn't a moment to lose in establishing the
needle exchange because it is so easy for viruses to spread with dirty
needles.

She said that, for one thing, drug injection is so hidden. And for
another, the student survey showed Halton youth use drugs at the same
rate as other students in the province. She said there is a potential
for HIV, AIDS and hepatitis C to spread more rapidly among students
since adolescents generally don't practise safe sex, especially when
under the influence of drugs.

Denise Mousseau, with Hamilton's Van Needle Exchange, told the Halton
committee that contrary to popular belief, injection drug users want
to be safe.

She knows of about six people from Burlington who use Hamilton's
exchange on a regular basis. In the Peel exchange program, about 25
per cent of users are from Halton.

Mousseau said it costs less to run a needle exchange than to treat one
case of HIV or AIDS.

Halton is among several regions in Ontario starting a needle exchange.
The service is mandated by the Ministry of Health if a need is identified.

Hamilton-Wentworth, Niagara, and Peel regions have them. Brant County
recently established its program.

Statistics from 1998 show that Hamilton's Van Needle Exchange took in
19,456 dirty needles and gave out 25,068 new ones. Niagara's exchange
took in 52,842 dirty needles and gave out 57,278 new ones.