STUDY SUPPORTS CRACK KIT DISTRIBUTION

Just as the Vancouver Island Health Authority prepares to roll out its
harm reduction strategy in Nanaimo, a new study by a health sciences
researcher finds that prevention, treatment and harm reduction
programs are lacking in the city.

This fall, VIHA plans to open another fixed site to provide crack
smoking materials and needles to Nanaimo residents. Harris House
Health Clinic on Franklyn Street will also begin distributing crack
smoking kits, along with the needle exchange and infectious disease
testing that's been offered in the city for 15 years.

Benedikt Fischer, who works out of Simon Fraser University's Centre
for Applied Research, Mental Health and Addictions, led a team that
interviewed crack cocaine users in Nanaimo, Campbell River and Prince
George in 2008.

Of the 148 participants, 70 were Nanaimo residents.

The users Fischer's team surveyed had a high prevalence of physical and
mental health problems, yet harm reduction and treatment targeted to this
drug user population is lacking, he wrote in a study published recently in
the journal Drugs: education, prevention and policy.

"Numerous study participants stated that even going for detoxification
would make little sense for them, since there are so few available
treatment options to enter after detoxification, and most users end up
in their previous drug use environments and habits," Fischer wrote.

"On this basis, most participants saw any attempt to quit crack use as
a futile effort in the long run."

His team recommends more prevention and treatment resources for crack
users, as well as expanded harm reduction measures, such as crack kit
distribution programs and safer inhalation facilities for crack users
- - similar to the safe injection site operated in Vancouver.

Only one community had access to a crack kit distribution site -
Prince George - and virtually all respondents reported using the
service and that the availability reduced the need to share crack-use
paraphernalia.

On the Island, the health authority will distribute needles, condoms,
push sticks and tubes from 10 of its locations this fall, including
one site in Nanaimo as the first phase of its harm reduction strategy,
said VIHA spokeswoman Suzanne Germain.

"This does prevent the spread of disease," she said. "The long term is
to have up to 60 of these sites doing the same thing. These are
low-volume locations."

The health authority consulted with city council earlier this year
following public outcry about lack of consultation, but Germain said
VIHA does not plan to advertise the location of the distribution site.

"We're not talking about which sites they are because we're trying to
make this normal," she said.

NARSF Programs Ltd. will also distribute the smoking kits at its
Franklyn Street clinic, along with some education with a nurse or
outreach worker on how to use and dispose of the materials safely.

"I don't think there will be a huge increase in traffic," said Darcie
Davidson, regional network coordinator for the central Island harm
reduction program with NARSF.

She believes the program will enable the clinic to connect with more
high-risk drug users, giving staff a chance to help these people with
other needs, such as a safe place to live, food or medical help.

"The more people are connected, the safer they will be and the more
connected to the community they will be," said Davidson. "It's not
just about distributing supplies."

Another harm reduction step that comes online in Nanaimo in the next
few years is 160 units of low-barrier housing.

This should go some of the way to support crack users, who often have
unstable housing, and help them deal with the problems that lead to
the addiction in the first place, said Marg Fraser, VIHA's manager of
mental health and addictions services.

"There's a lot of people in the city using crack cocaine," she said.
"It is the drug of choice. The first thing you have to do is get
people in a safe, supported environment."