COCAINE USERS SWITCHING TO CRACK

Drug users in Greater Victoria are moving away from injecting cocaine
and toward smoking crack cocaine, a health survey has found.

Seventy-four per cent of participants in the I-Track 2009 survey
reported injecting cocaine at least once in a six-month period --
down from 93 per cent in 2003 and 90 per cent in 2005.

The survey, which monitors trends and prevalence of HIV and hepatitis
C among drug users in the capital, examined the habits of 256
intravenous drug users. Its results are used by Vancouver Island
Health Authority and other service providers when planning harm
reduction and related programs.

The drug users explained the shift as being down to supply, "but a
large number said it was their preference -- they'd rather smoke
crack cocaine than inject it," said Murray Fyfe, medical health
officer with the authority.

That shift of preference is likely due to education about the dangers
of spreading HIV and hepatitis C through sharing hypodermic needles,
Fyfe said in an interview Thursday.

Stable housing is key in tackling the spread of both HIV and
hepatitis C, he added. The behaviour of people living on the streets
tends to be high-risk, such as sharing needles and other drug-use
equipment or injecting in a public place.

The sharing of needles has fallen to 23 per cent from 42 per cent in
2005. But 22 per cent of people who were aware they were infected
with hepatitis C, and a small percentage of those who were HIV
positive, said they still lent needles.

The prevalence of HIV has remained relatively unchanged since 2002,
while the prevalence of hepatitis C has declined somewhat, the study said.

The stabilization of HIV rates at 13 per cent of illicit-drug users
show that harm-reduction methods are working, Fyfe said.

With a greater proportion of people smoking crack, the focus has to
shift to ensure that addicts have access to clean equipment through
VIHA's partner agencies, he said.

One challenge is making sure all HIV positive injection-drug users
receive medical treatment. Currently, only half are following a treatment plan.

The survey found that intravenous-drug users can be found in many
different neighbourhoods across the region, and not just downtown.

The survey is part of a Public Health Agency of Canada study, carried
out in partnership with the VIHA and the University of Victoria.