NEEDLE USE DOWN; METHADONE CLINIC PRAISED

Demand for needle exchange has been cut in half.

The local program director attributes the change in drug habits to the
opening of a methadone clinic in Red Deer.

Phil Rauch, executive director of the Central Alberta AIDS Network, said the
number of free needles distributed to drug users to reduce the spread of
diseases reached a peak of 10,000 a month last year and averaged 8,000 a
month.

But in November when Central Alberta Methadone Program opened its doors, the
number of needles handed out dropped to 5,000 a month.

In the last three months, it has averaged 4,000 a month.

"I didn't expect quite the results we got," Rauch said. "It's been an upward
curve for over three years." Rauch said the only possible explanation is a
reduction in morphine use, which has been the drug of choice on Red Deer
streets.

Once the clinic opened, physicians started sending patients there instead of
prescribing morphine for opiate addiction. It also means less prescription
morphine is ending up on the streets, he said.

Compared with last summer, Rauch said there has also been fewer drug users
in crisis visiting the network's office.

Craig Staniforth, area supervisor at the Red Deer office of the Alberta
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, said Red Deer's methadone clinic has had
a positive affect on the community.

"The methadone clinic has had a significant impact on opiate addiction in
Red Deer. We're very encouraged," Staniforth said.

He said the reduction in the demand for needles would suggest some, but not
all, people are getting off drugs totally.

Rauch agreed changes to the demand for needle exchange doesn't mean drugs
have become less of a problem in Red Deer.

Some morphine users may not be ready for treatment or life without a drug
high and could be turning to non-injection drugs like crack cocaine or
crystal meth, Rauch said.

Unfortunately both the methadone clinic and ADDAC officials say more people
are turning to them for help for cocaine addiction.

"That is very concerning to us," Staniforth said. "The history of use is
often not very long. It doesn't take long for a problem to happen."

Staniforth said it's been on the increase for about six to eight months.

Bill Leslie, the operator of Central Alberta Methadone Program, said cocaine
users have been seeking treatment at his clinic during the last three
months.

"Crack is the worst drug on the street," Leslie said. "Cocaine is an upper.
It's a stimulant. They are cruising at 100 miles an hour." Out of the
clinic's 270 patients, about 30 are cocaine users. The youngest is 15 and
the oldest is 47 so it hits all age groups.