NEEDLE EXCHANGE IN THE WORKS

The health unit is planning a pilot needle exchange in Smiths Falls
pharmacies to prevent intravenous drug abuse from further harming addicts -
and the rest of us.

The Ontario government ordered health units to provide needle exchanges a
decade ago; the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit is among
the last to comply. Proponents hope to take the program across Lanark,
Leeds and Grenville by 2005.

"The community groups are pushing us - let's get this moving," said
director of clinical services Jane Futcher, who's working with a committee
of police, pharmacists, addictions counsellors and an HIV/AIDS worker.

Needle exchanges in Ottawa and Kingston are saying that tri-county
residents are travelling to use their services and that we should be
providing it ourselves, Futcher said.

There's also a growing number of hepatitis C infections linked to IV drug use.

Organizers hope to have the pilot program running by summer. If it's a
success, the board of health will be asked to take it countieswide at an
estimated cost of $10,000 in the first year.

The aim is harm reduction.

"That's the whole point of needle exchanges - you want to reduce the harm
intravenous drug users are doing to themselves when they're addicted so
when they make the decision they're going to quit, they'll be healthy,"
Futcher said.

Needle exchanges are aimed at preventing the sharing of needles, which
spreads HIV and hepatitis B and C. The contact is also a good time to point
users to shelters, social services, and health clinics to kick the habit.
More than 30 needle exchanges are running in Ontario.

It's hard to know exactly how many people are using intravenous drugs,
Futcher said.

But since 1996, 241 of the 507 people in the tri-counties who tested
positive for hepatitis C reported that they'd been shooting up. Smaller
numbers of people with HIV and hepatitis B - eight and 12 respectively -
said they'd been using IV drugs.

Rising hepatitis C cases mean rising drug use, Futcher said.

The committee concluded pharmacies are the best place for needle exchanges
because they're available even small communities and are staffed by health
professionals. There's also no stigma about visiting the corner drug store.

A health unit study also found that nearly 80 per cent or pharmacies
already take needles for disposal and report selling syringes to people
they know aren't diabetics.

Organizers still have to get Smiths Falls pharmacists on board with the
pilot project, design the training they'll offer employees on
confidentiality and referrals, and figure out how they'll dispose of the
needles and let users know the service exists.

Smiths Falls is the proposed site for the pilot because it's the
second-largest urban area with several pharmacies and higher rates of
hepatitis C infections. There is also a host of organizations, including
Tri-County Addiction Services, eager to get involved.

John MacTavish travels Lanark, Leeds and Grenville helping people with
HIV/AIDS or who are at risk of being infected. His clients, who know
HIV/AIDS Regional Services operates a needle exchange in Kingston, already
ask him to bring them clean needles.

He knows that people in small communities are using IV drugs - he's even
been called to a park near Brockville Collegiate Institute to pick up
discarded needles. Needle exchanges prevent the spread of disease to
addicts, their partners and children and give them an opportunity to seek
help when they're ready.

Needle exchanges also make sure needles are properly discarded so garbage
collectors or children playing in a park aren't accidentally stuck and
potentially exposed to HIV or hepatitis.

"The other thing, and this is a point some people don't understand, is to
acknowledge that everyone in our community - every human being - has
value," MacTavish said.