NEW FOCUS NEEDED IN TACKLING ADDICTION

We need to do something different.

That was the message from a number of the panelists during the "community
voices" portion of an all-day harm reduction conference, held Tuesday at
Peardonville House.

For Abbotsford Downtown Business Association president Bob Bos, the role of
harm reduction for substance abusers has been "mostly negative" for
downtown businesses.

"It's like mixing oil and water," he said.

If customers feel intimidated by drug users and prostitutes in the downtown
area, he said, they won't shop there.

While he supports treatment, education and detox - outside the business
area - Bos is not in favour of methadone clinics or needle exchange.

Methadone clinics, he said, are "a Band-Aid, not a solution."

Chilliwack Business Improvement Association's Nety Tam said that education
and communication is key.

"The business community isn't understanding the things the social agency
faces and vice versa," Tam said.

"The lesson we learned in Chilliwack is to work together. Part of the fear
factor is people not understanding."

In Chilliwack, Fraser Valley Connection offers counseling and needle
exchange. Needle exchange comprises about 10 per cent of what the
organization does. It recently relocated outside the downtown core.

Needle exchange is something Abbotsford Police Chief Ian Mackenzie approves
of "in principle."

But there is still a lot of work in the area of harm reduction that needs
to be done, he said.

A clear policy needs to be developed, possibly including a requirement that
used needles be turned in before users can get new ones.

That would reduce the frequency of finding needles in the streets, he said.
Needle exchange cannot stand alone, Mackenzie said, but must be part of a
comprehensive drug strategy in Abbotsford.

"Law enforcement is only part of its solution," he said.

Chilliwack pastor Doug Ireland said the public needs to "think outside the
box" to prevent harm for drug users.

Society creates harm, he said, by stigmatizing drug users.

"There is one word, and one word only, that describes addicts:
Abandonment," Ireland said.

That, he said, results in shame.

A fifth panelist, Steven Lloyd, spoke about harm reduction programs
currently offered by the Correctional Service of Canada.