ONETIME DRUG USERS DEFENDING HARM REDUCTION

Without his methadone he would be back on heroin straight away. If they
took it off my niece - she's two years old - it would kill her."

A 17-year-old girl - one of the clients attending a program organized by
Abbotsford's Impact Society - was talking frankly on Tuesday about how she
felt a methadone treatment facility had helped her older brother.

It may not be perfect, she said, but at least she and the rest of the
family can now communicate with him. Now, she added enthusiastically, he
even has a job.

If they (the city) stop methadone programs there is going to be more crack
shacks, more death and more HIV. . . it is going to be like Hastings (in
Vancouver)."

The girl says she has 12 other siblings and a niece who was born two months
early, and the size of my hand."

She has to be on the methadone. They (doctors) said she'd die if she wasn't."

On Monday, Abbotsford city council voted unanimously to press ahead with a
bylaw that will make it much more difficult to set up harm reduction"
services within its boundaries. Not only will this include methadone
dispensing facilities not administered by a pharmacist, but also supervised
injection sites, needle exchanges and other types of similar uses."

While the city stopped short of an outright ban, anybody hoping to set up a
harm reduction service will now be forced to go through a rezoning process.
With its vote, council agreed to focus its drug-related attentions on
enforcement, education and treatment.

The Impact Society runs an adolescent substance abuse program that serves
teenage youth and their families.

And while council's ruling will not directly affect that group, executive
director Sean Spear said he is still totally against" the city's stance.

I think it is a really bad move. My reaction is that it is totally not
necessary and as for the motivation? I do not understand it," he said.

I am coming from a place in which I have really done the research and have
seen what is going on in the rest of Canada and the rest of the liberal
world. What I am seeing is that the city I have worked in for the past
eight years is taking a big step backwards."

Spear said the suggestion that a safe injection site would even appear in
Abbotsford is wide of the the mark. He said the high-profile service set up
in the downtown eastside of Vancouver was the first in North America, and
there is no suggestion" there would ever be a similar facility needed in
Abbotsford.

Fearing for the future, Spear now believes Abbotsford may struggle to
obtain government funding for drug-related programs.

When I talk to people in the upper levels of government they see Abbotsford
as a place that is lost in time," he said.

Spear also dismissed some claims that there is a shortage of evidence
supporting the position that harm reduction works.

I have got stacks of research. The World Health Authority, for one,
supports harm reduction," he said.

At a recent public hearing where the issue was discussed, Spear told
councillors that a harm reduction program saved his life as he battled with
his own drug addiction on the streets of Vancouver 12 years ago.

The reason for disclosing that is because council kept saying 'we have
talked to the recovering addicts.' But what I would say is that there is no
one-step cookie cutter solution for everybody," Spear said.

There is a good chance I would have contracted HIV or Hep C had it not been
for these (harm reduction) programs."

Spear said it is a start" that the City of Abbotsford ha at least admitted
there is a drug problem.

However, he said regardless of whether there are official harm reduction
facilities, the illegal operations - particularly needle exchanges - will
continue.

There are people handing out needles underground in Abbotsford because
there is a need for them. There are many, many, many drug users in this town."

Andrew Larder, a Fraser Health Authority medical officer who operates out
of Abbotsford, said the city is going against provincial policy by
eliminating harm reduction from its armory.

I think it has implications for how much service we (the Fraser Health
Authority) can provide and where we will be delivering the services,"
Larder said, adding he only heard about the city's policy immediately prior
to last month's public hearing.

I just hope it will be possible to have an opportunity to discuss this with
council."

Larder said there is clearly evidence" that harm reduction works.

But how the city (of Abbotsford) is interpreting that is different to the
rest of the Fraser Health Authority and rest of the province."

Larder, who addressed council at the public hearing, said there are some
existing harm reduction services in Abbotsford, which include a methadone
dispensing centre in the city's downtown.

But the concern is that as the population is growing then the services will
need to expand. There is not enough for the type of population that we
have, and the concern is how we will meet future needs."

Larder suggested the situation will be a first for the Fraser Health
Authority, adding he is not aware" of any other community in B.C. that has
taken Abbotsford's position."Fraser Health are going to have to determine
the implications of this and figure out what this is going to mean," he said.

Immediately before council's vote on Monday, Abbotsford Mayor Mary Reeves
made a point of mentioning some of the comments made by Larder at the
public hearing.

I wanted to address a couple of allegations. One came from Andrew Larder
who said he wanted there to be communication with Fraser Health," she said.

It is important to note that I met with him two years ago with an agenda
item and his response was that he did not seem to be concerned with
anything the city wants to do. He seemed to think they (the health
authority) should do their business and we should do our business."

Larder, however, had a different recollection of that meeting.

I can only speak from my perspective, but I was never consulted about this
bylaw amendment," he said.

I did meet with the mayor to introduce myself shortly after she was
elected, but it was basically just to say 'hello.'

I have never been approached by her about harm reduction."

Reeves then defended the city against an allegation it did not have all the
relevant information before making a decision, adding that she has
personally visited every needle exchange facility in the Lower Mainland.

Ultimately, the mayor said the new city bylaw addresses land use" issues
and how they (harm reduction facilities) would affect nearby neighbourhoods."

It was very disheartening to hear speaker after speaker (at the public
hearing) say they wanted detox treatment but there was less money because
of harm reduction," Reeves continued.

If we can't get people clean and healthy because we are offering services
that are keeping addicts dirty, then I think we have a problem." Admitting
the science is inconclusive" when it comes to harm reduction, Coun. Lynne
Harris said more focus should be put on providing additional detox and
treatment beds in Abbotsford.

Meanwhile, Coun. George Peary said it is inconceivable that you help
addicts by giving them more of what they are addicted to." I do not think
we are helping them when we allow them to continue their addiction . . . I
know that what we are doing is being criticized but I do feel our motives
are noble," he added.