NEEDLE EXCHANGE NEEDED

Asmarter community would not have gone without a fixed needle exchange
for three years. The failure to provide services that existed here for
two decades has been costly and damaging.

Needle exchanges trouble some people, who fear they indirectly condone
drug use. Potential neighbours have reasonable concerns about the
impact on their lives.

But needle exchanges don't encourage drug use, according to extensive
research. And properly managed and supported, they do not damage
neighbourhoods. A fixed needle exchange operated successfully, its
existence almost unnoticed by neighbours, for more than 15 years.
Serious problems at the last location, on Cormorant Street, can be
traced to its inadequate size and understaffing.

The exchanges save lives and millions of dollars in health-care costs,
while reducing drug use and public disorder. There is no real argument
about those facts. They were confirmed by a 2010 report from the
University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research, which has
tracked drug use in Victoria and Vancouver since 2007.

The report, looking at the impact of the closure of the fixed needle
exchange, offered grim news. Only 10 per cent of those surveyed
reported sharing needles when the exchange was operating; that
increased to 23 per cent once it closed. The rate in Vancouver was
relatively stable during the same period, at eight per cent. Sharing
needles spreads infections, including HIV and hepatitis C. Preventing
one HIV infection can save up to $600,000.

The study also found open drug use and discarded needles increased
once the exchange closed. So did daily injection drug use in Victoria,
while it was falling in Vancouver. That could reflect the lost
opportunities for needle exchange personnel to counsel clients on harm
reduction, the centre reported.

Needles are still provided through mobile exchanges and at offices
offering health and housing services. But contact is brief and
opportunities for counselling and health support services are limited.

The need for a fixed needle exchange is accepted by the Vancouver
Island Health Authority, service providers, municipalities - virtually
everyone involved. There has been progress in providing supports, like
VIHA's outreach teams, to reduce potential problems.

The evidence is clear. A fixed needle exchange would save lives and
money and help guide people to safer practices - or treatment.