NEEDLE EXCHANGE PLANNED FOR TRI-COUNTIES DRUG ADDICTS

Local drug addicts will soon have a place to trade used needles for fresh
ones as part of a plan to reduce the spread of AIDS and hepatitis.

The Leeds, Grenville, Lanark District Health Unit is in the process of
designing a needle exchange program for the tri-county area. The Harm
Reduction Strategy will also be a way to reach out to addicts to provide
medical help and counselling.

The provincially mandated strategy is being implemented after a Toronto
study revealed intravenous drug use is a problem in the tri-counties, said
Laurie Doxtator, special projects co-ordinator for the department of
clinical services.

Doxtator admits the program may offend some, but said it should be viewed
as an immediate step in a campaign to increase public health, necessary
because programs designed to help addicts kick their habit may take years
to work.

"Needle exchanges do tend to be controversial and are sometimes viewed as
condoning intravenous drug use," Doxtator said Thursday at the monthly
meeting of the health unit board. "But changing behaviour can take months
and years, and there's not really any guarantee of success.

"It's really about meeting people and helping them where they're at now and
working with them. We're not judging them. We're trying to reduce the risk."

It's no different from sex education in the high schools, she said.

"We teach students that abstaining is the best approach but also provide
them with condoms if they want them. It's just a pragmatic approach."

The needle exchange is one element of a broader strategy involving public
education, referral for health services or counselling, and other
health-related services to limit the spread of infectious diseases.

The need for the program was demonstrated in a provincewide study of
intravenous drug use conducted by the University of Toronto in 1997.

The study suggests there are at least 320 intravenous drug users in the
tri-county area based on AIDS infection rates and other data.

Twenty-two of 28 pharmacists contacted in the area reported needle requests
for non-medical reasons in the year preceding the survey.

The estimate is probably low because it's based in part on voluntary
reporting to the health unit, she said. People who use drugs or suspect
they're HIV positive may not report it.

Studies show that half of all new AIDS cases come from intravenous drug use
and sharing of needles. The incidence of sexually contracted AIDS is
decreasing because more people now practise safe sex.

Medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner added another reason for the
program is the new provincial jail being built in the area. Prisoners are a
high-risk population for intravenous drug use.

"And the prisoners will become part of the community later because they
often stay in the community they've been incarcerated in," said Gardner.

Some board members had concerns about the program.

Brockville Councillor Mike Kalivas wanted to know what would stop police
from arresting people participating in the program because they're using
illegal drugs.

Doxtater said the program will be designed and implemented by a committee
including health officials, representatives of drug rehabilitation
programs, former or current intravenous drug users, as well as the police.
It could take many forms ranging, from a mobile program that takes fresh
needles to addicts on the streets to one where addicts are required to come
to a clinic to make the exchange.

Doxtator hopes to have the committee in place though by year's end.

Board member Dave Gordon, a veteran police officer, said he supports a
needle exchange to reduce health risks. But he's against a mobile program
similar to one operating in Ottawa because it disturbs homeowners in areas
it operates.

"One of the negative impacts it creates is for residents of the downtown
core," he said. "People see it as promoting drug use. It's a joke. They say
'Here comes Molly Maid, the condom and needle lady.'"

He would like to see addicts required to come to a place such as the health
unit to exchange needles.