This article outlines, through studies and research, how the shut down of the only fixed needle exchange in Victoria affects the social welfare of those needing to use clean sterilized needles. Due to complaints of the hazard issues and public disturbances from neighbours the fixed needle exchange shut down (Cleverley, 2010). As a result, there has been an increase in dirty needle usage which is causing an increase in health hazards, more than that of Vancouver (Cleverley, 2010). The sharing and use of dirty needles contributes to the spread of hepatitis C and HIV, which is a huge concern when it comes to public health (Cleverley, 2010). In order to re-establish and an effective well-run fixed needle exchange that will solely focus on providing a safe injection site to address the public health and public disorder the business community, health officials and the city need to work together (Cleverley, 2010).
Through this article I felt that a social policy of re-implementing a needle exchange program in Victoria is seen as a necessity for everyone. It is seen this way because it will help by preventing the spread of diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV that are caused by reusing and sharing needles (Cleverley, 2010). I was shocked to know that the spread of these diseases in Victoria was significantly higher than that of Vancouver for the past 3 years due to the shut down of the needle exchange (Cleverley, 2010). Also, I realized how big of an impact the needle exchanged program had considering the sharing and reusing of needles doubled within one year of its closure (Cleverley, 2010). The fact that this article was based on a study done by university of Victoria graduates was something I really appreciated. It is nice to see ...
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... will decrease the amount of sharing and reusing needles, and most importantly it will decrease the spread of hepatitis C and HIV. I do not stand to lose in this particular situation because I live in Vancouver which is why I agree with the re-establishment of the needle exchange program. Even though this article with bias and completely one sided it brings forth many reasons why it is important to re-establish the needle exchange facility.
Works Cited
Cleverley, B. (2010, September 02). Needle exchange shutdown led to spike in
dangerous sharing: study .Victoria Times Colonist, p. 1.
Lucas, P. (2011). Philippe lucas - working with you for a better victoria. Retrieved from http://philippelucas.vicgreens.com/
Bryant , T. (2002). The role of knowledge in social policy development and
implementation. Canada Review of Social Policy, 49-50, 106-116.
This is being done in hopes to decrease the number of overdose deaths that are occurring in West Virginia. The law does have restrictions. Those who buy naloxone OTC must be trained by a pharmacist on how to recognize an overdose, when to administer the antidote, and how to properly inject or inhale the drug. Pharmacies must also provide educational material telling customers how and where to access treatment programs (Brown, A., Para. 1, 2016). West Virginia being the number one state in overdose deaths, I personally believe that it is a good decision to pass this law. However, I think people should be trained properly on how to administer, when to administer, what to do, what signs to look for and how to respond. Narcan is a life savior and it should be readily available over the counter. Just because they have addiction or uses drug, they don’t deserve to die. If there is already a drug to save someone’s lives, why not use it. It is ridiculous how expensive the drug cost compared to other countries. Lower class and middle class people cannot afford to buy a drug for 500 to 600 dollars. I think it is a control by the big drug industries to make more money but being greedy is just hurting everyone. If country like Australia and Canada can sell cheap as a dollar, how come it costs 500-600 dollars in USA. People have stereotype belief that only druggies gets overdosed. However, it is not true. Older people who sometimes forget what medicines they took, light weight people who had never taken any drugs when started on pain medicines because of accidents or even though if it is overdose by someone trying to get high, saving life is a miracle. With the scientific achievement, people can make clone, skin graft, synthetic valves or many ways to save or repair human body, but no one can bring a soul back to a dead body. Many people doesn’t get overdosed to kill
By providing clean needles to drug addicts, are we causing another issue such as increased drug
Following the dot-com boom of the 1990s, the political and economical landscape of San Francisco greatly changed (Bourgois and Schonberg). At this time, Mayor Brown of San Francisco enacted neoliberal policies and reinstated law enforcement campaigns that directly targeted the homeless (Bourgois and Schonberg 221-222). The campaigns caused the Edgewater homeless to lose their few possessions, regular encampments, clean needles, and contact with the Department of Public Health’s mobile health van (Bourgois and Schonberg 222). Many addicts blamed themselves for the situation they were in, but the culture they were surrounded by had just as large of a role in prolonging their addiction and health problems. The previously mentioned governmental policies and drug use of the homeless caused a “syndemic” in their lives. A syndemic is “a cluster of [health] problems that work together, reinforcing and often exacerbating each other synergistically” (Sobo 193). Poor sanitation, use of dirty needles, and reduced access to healthcare created a complex system of health ...
Canadian Aboriginal Aids Network, Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS, and Health Canada. Hands Across the World: An Indigenous Peoples Forum. Final Report, July 17, 1999 AIDS Impact Conference. Ottawa: Blue Moon Consulting.Ê 1999.
The documentary states that over 27,000 deaths a year are due to overdose from heroin and other opioids. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 prescription pain relievers account for 20,101 overdose deaths, and 12,990 overdose deaths are related to heroin (Rudd et al., 2010-2015). The documentary’s investigation gives the history of how the heroin epidemic started, with a great focus on the hospice movement. We are presented with the idea that once someone is addicted to painkillers, the difficulty in obtaining the drug over a long period of time becomes too expensive and too difficult. This often leads people to use heroin. This idea is true as a 2014 survey found that 94% of respondents who were being treated for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “more expensive and harder to obtain (Cicero et al., 2014).” Four in five heroin users actually started out using prescription painkillers (Johns, 2013). This correlation between heroin and prescription painkiller use supports the idea presented in the documentary that “prescription opiates are heroin prep school.”
China’s programs have been successful at reducing HIV transmission rates. A study took a sample of 42 counties in China, examining people who did participate in these programs, and people who chose not to participate. They discovered that participation in these programs was associated with lower rates of transmission among IDUs (Wei et al., 2015). Harm reduction interventions, like needle exchange programs, show promise of being an effective way to reduce drug-related transmission (Koo et al.,
middle of paper ... ... After considering both parts of the issues I am all for methadone treatment and am about 50% on board for the needle exchange. For example, the needle exchange benefits people who get pierced because the piercers must also use sterile needles even if this is not for drug use. But, at the same time, needle exchange doesn’t necessarily reduce the spread of HIV.
Many people believe that the only way to receive HIV and AIDS is through sexual intercourse. Although it can be spread through sexual intercourse without proper protection, there is a bigger issue at hand. Not only can HIV and AIDS be transferred through sex, it can be transferred through the sharing of needles. A large number of people forget that drugs are becoming a popular trend in today’s society. The spread of HIV and AIDS has increased because of the sharing of needles between drug users.Not only is it an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) it is a bloodborne pathogen. This is why needle exchange programs are a must have in communities like Licking County, today. Needle exchange programs are extremely helpful because it decreases the spread of HIV and AIDS.
The public health model differs from traditional health practices, as its focus is on the health of the public instead of one patient. It uses a “3 prong approach to prevention and intervention” “known as the agent, host, and the environment.” This is because threats to public health require a susceptible host, an infectious agent, and a supportive environment that allows the spread of infection. By doing this, professionals are able to develop preventions against issues of public health. This would include teaching children to say no to drugs at a young age in order to prevent addiction in the future, as they are susceptible hosts to becoming addicts. Also making drugs illegal to keep the agent from being accessible to people who could become addicts. The approach is useful in all areas of public health, and has been proven to intervene in the likeliness that something will become
The study conducted by MacNeil & Pauly (2011) focused on the perspective of the people who use the needle exchange programs in Canada. To receive the data from the injecting drug users, the researchers first recruited most of their participants from four needle exchange sites. There were a total of 33 people who participated (23 men and 10 women) in this study. The average age of the participants was 40.3 years of age, for men, the average was 43, whereas for women it was 34 years old. The participants were either homeless or were on government assistance programs. Out of the 33 participants, six of them reported being HIV positive (18%) and 16 reported being diagnosed wi...
Alexander explains that in Canada there has been three major waves of drug intervention, the ‘“harm reduction’ techniques” (225) being the most resent consisted of: clean injectable heroin, clean needles, methadone, and housing. Although, each of the methods are devoted and knowledgeable they have done little to decreased the deaths or supress the unhappiness. While clean heroin did work well few addicts quit using and many found the conditions of reserving the drugs to be repulsive. Yet another method is legalization which is nothing new and will do little to help.
With such statistical information it is unsurprising that governments have not fully embraced the harm reduction concept, with some countries reverting back to older methods. For instance, Canada is on the verge of closing the dangerous In-site injection facility in Vancouver and reallocating funds to traditional inpatient treatment--real treatment that promotes eventual abstinence. One can conclude that the effectiveness of harm reduction is a very questionable topic as not only does it aid in offender substance abuse, but at what cost. The topic of harm reduction provokes a deeper thought, what happened to prevention methods and what about them is not working?
Bruce K. Alexander’s essay “Reframing Canada’s ‘Drug Problem’” is about shifting the focus from intervention to prevention. Alexander explains that in Canada there have been three major waves of drug intervention: “Criminal prosecution and intensive anti-drug” (225), “medicinal and psychological treatment” (225), and the ‘“harm reduction’ techniques” (225) being the most resent. The “’harm reduction’” (225) consisted of: clean injectable heroin, clean needles, methadone, and housing for addicts. Although each of the methods is devoted and knowledgeable, they have done little to decrease the deaths or suppress the unhappiness. While clean heroin did work well few addicts quit using and many found
Injectable drugs continue to be found in Canadian prisons despite control measures to prevent this. Drug users can therefore continue their injecting habits while in prison with some modification, one being the lack of access to sterile injecting equipment. In studies done from 1995 to 2003 it was found that as high as 92% of injecting drug users shared equipment while in Canadian prisons.3 This contributes to the unfortunate fact that the prevalence of HIV in Canadian prisons far exceeds that of the normal population, with some estimates going as much as 10 times higher. The increased prevalence has been in part attributed to needle s...
Adele Ferguson. “Glass Ceiling Scratched not broken.” The (Melbourne Age) 7 March 2014: Page 28