IS CITY A HAVEN FOR STEROID USE?

Most clients of Halton Region's needle exchange program using
muscle-enhancing drugs: report

Two-thirds of last year's clients with Halton Region's relatively new
needle exchange program were steroid takers, not intravenous street drug users.

That seemingly unbalanced statistic was matched by the fact that two-thirds
of the program's 202 clients ended up at Burlington's all-day health clinic.

A report released to Halton Region's health and social services committee
last week showed 6,899 needles were collected and 9,320 needles handed out
between September 2001 and September 2002 -- the first year the free
program operated full time.

The needle exchange program's objective is to get dirty needles off the
street in order to reduce the spread of infectious, potentially deadly
diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis.

Breaking down the statistics, 35 per cent of program clients were IV users,
involving drugs like crack cocaine and heroin. The remaining two-thirds
were steroid users.

The 202 people, some of them repeat clients, included 133 in Burlington, 41
in Oakville, 20 in Milton, six in Georgetown and two in Acton.

Although the numbers seem to indicate that Burlington has a
disproportionate ratio of both needle exchange clients and steroid users
within Halton, the program's manager said those figures are skewed by
several significant factors.

Cate Bannan, manager of AIDS, STD, sexual health and needle exchange
services for the Halton Region Health Department, said the Burlington
clinic at Lakeside Village shopping plaza would see far more people drop in
there than at the other such clinics around the region.

She noted the Burlington sexual health clinic is the only one in Halton
open every weekday (Mon.-Fri., 8:30-4:30); outlets in Acton, Milton and
Georgetown are only open for one afternoon per week.

The Lakeshore Road clinic here also doubles as the home base for Oakville
residents. Anyone who comes to the Burlington site, just west of Burloak
Drive, to exchange needles becomes a Burlington statistic regardless of
where they live, said Bannan.

"They could even be from other municipalities or even from outside the
region," she said of clients.

Bannan noted clinic workers often don't know where a client comes from
because a degree of anonymity is maintained as a way to encourage people to
bring in their used, potentially disease-ridden needles. The only constant
in the program is that outreach worker Cecil McDougall drives a van around
Halton to meet people looking to exchange used needles for new ones.

There is another reason why needle exchange clients, and steroid use as
well, may seem or actually be higher in Burlington, Bannan theorized.

"We have a student in the program who was a bodybuilder in Burlington and
she knew the bodybuilding community. We were able to develop a good
relationship with the steroid-using community early."

Bannan said there is no way a client could misrepresent themselves either,
even if they wanted to pretend they were a steroid user when in fact they
use hard drugs.

"We can tell by the type of needle; they don't look the same." Also, you
can usually tell the steroid users who come in, she said, by their
well-developed or bulky physiques.

Bannan said taking all the circumstances into consideration, she doesn't
think people living here should conclude that drug use is rampant in
Burlington.

"I wouldn't say Burlington has any more steroid or drug use, it's just that
the community has taken to the program enthusiastically.

"If our numbers go up it doesn't mean that drug use is going up, just that
awareness (is up).... For us, the most important thing is that people use
it (needle) safely."

As for the current 12-month period of the program, the number of clients
using the service is up, with Bannan noting January was "very busy".

As for other aspects of the program, region health department officials
have said Halton's return rate of 74 per cent -- the number of new needles
given out versus the old ones returned -- is on par with programs in
Hamilton, Niagara Region and Guelph.

"We are very pleased with how well the program is doing," Bannan said. "We
think there are more users out there, but it's not epidemic."

She said it's not known how many drug users there are in the region. As for
the profile of the program's users last year, males made up 75 per cent of
the clientele. The men were divided into two main subgroups, those using
steroid needles were generally in the 25-35-year-old category while IV drug
users were mostly 35-45.

Bannan said there is no average or maximum number of needles handed out.
Some ask for one or two while others want 100. Clients are given a small
container so used needles can be returned safely.

The used needles are disposed of by the region via a contract it has with a
medical bio-waste company.

The cost of the needle exchange program, for supplies and salaries is
$80,000 per year. There is one full-time paid staffer plus assistance from
the program manager, a nurse practitioner and several public health nurses.

The cost to treat patients with hepatitis C or B or HIV, all of which can
be contracted using 'dirty' needles, is "a heck of a lot more" in the long
run, said Bannan.

The program has been a safe one for both clients and clinic workers, she
said. Users get to keep their anonymity while no employee has felt or been
threatened.