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Needle exchange, injection site needed

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Mon, 03/29/2010 - 5:15pm
By Bonnie J.E. Tateham, Times Colonist

Under the 2007 Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness, Addictions and Mental Health report, providing services to clean up our city is a priority.

It is interesting to note that three of the Traveller's Inn locations have been bid on by the city.

This would provide a wonderful opportunity to create a wet shelter, needle exchange, clinic and possibly a safe-injection site for Victoria's addicted and homeless street population.

Since the opening of the Insite supervised safe-injection clinic in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside there has been a noticeable improvement in the amount of drug paraphernalia lying around on the streets.

Victoria encouraged to act now on harm-reduction for drug users

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 3:00pm
 
Stand united; don’t wait for consensus.
 
This is the way forward when it comes to contentious harm reduction services, such as a fixed needle exchange site or a safe injection site.
 
Donald MacPherson, Vancouver’s former drug policy co-ordinator, brought his message to Victoria city council recently.
 
“Time is marching on. To do nothing is not an option,” said MacPherson.
 

VIHA ponders handing out needles, crack pipes at addiction centre at Quadra near Yates

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 7:00am
By Richard Watts, Times Colonist (Published Vancouver Sun)
 
Drug users could be offered addiction treatment and clean needles under the same roof in a proposal now being considered by the Vancouver Island Health Authority.
 
The authority is looking at using its Addiction Outpatient Treatment office at 1250 Quadra St. near Yates Street as a site for distributing hypodermic needles and other paraphernalia for illegal drug use, such as crack pipes and sterile swabs.
 
It's an idea the executive director of Cedars, an addiction recovery centre in Cobble Hill, calls "absolutely insane."
 

City can't wait any longer for needle-exchange site, Victoria councillor says

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 7:00am
By Bill Cleverley, Times Colonist (Published Vancouver Sun)
 
After two years without a fixed needle-exchange site, Victoria can't sit back and wait for health officials to develop an Island-wide distribution model, says Victoria Coun. Philippe Lucas.
 
"There's absolutely no reason and no excuse for us to wait for an Island-wide model to be put in place before this municipality takes action in trying to reduce the spread of disease and improve the public health of our region," Lucas said.
 
The Vancouver Island Health Authority is looking at a number of potential sites to establish an Island-wide distributed needle exchange program.
 

Saint John leads addiction fight

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 5:08pm
Editorial: Telegraph-Journal
 
While the federal government is locked in an ideological battle to shut down a safe drug injection site in Vancouver, community leaders in Saint John are taking a more pragmatic view. The test of any addiction treatment program is the results it generates for addicts and society - and based on the success of methadone treatment in Saint John, safe injection may one day be employed as an option.
 

Sites lauded as lifesavers

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 8:52pm
Drugs: Medical ethicist says safe injection locations 'brilliant' at preventing overdose deaths
 
APRIL ROBINSON, TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
SAINT JOHN - There would be no downside to setting up a safe injection site in Saint John, says a medical ethicist and board member of AIDS Saint John.

"People might debate whether Saint John needs one or not, but I would say there's no harm in having one," said Tim Christie, associate professor in bioethics at Dalhousie University and a lecturer at the University of New Brunswick Saint John.

"They're brilliant at preventing people from dying of overdose deaths. They're brilliant at linking people with other treatments."

In 2009, 18 substance abusers in Saint John died while on a waiting list for treatment, Christie said.

Harper government can't accept Insite's right to stay open

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 02/10/2010 - 6:05pm
 
The federal Conservative government says it will appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada a ruling by the BC Court of Appeal that allowed Vancouver's safe-injection site for intravenous drug users to stay open.

The appeal court ruled Jan 15 that Insite is a health care facility and therefore falls under provincial jurisdiction.

But federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says "this case raises important questions regarding the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity and the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments."

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