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
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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
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.
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 ...
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.”
Perhaps one of the most pressing concerns is health and the assumption that to a certain degree criminalization is justified by preserving health. Illicit drugs are, in reality, not as hazardous to public health as accustomed views present- particularly in relation to certain recreational activities that are legal. Of the 25,000 illegal drug use-induced fatalities the National Institute on Drug Abuse has brought to light, the majority is more correctly due to drug prohibition than consumption. Also, some 14,300 of the casualties are a result of diseases like AIDS, transferred (generally) because of contaminated drug injection needles. Needle exchange programs for sterile needles are encouraged by the World Health Organization, amongst many other international organizations, as it is considered as possibly the greatest innovation for the health improvement of users. However, the federal government disallows the appropriation of its funds to these programs because the possession and sale of syringes still remain largely illegal. Furthermore, - as I explain later on- between the sellers and producers, there is no real confidence in the contents and hence, dangerousness of a given street drug. Considering the already growing level of consumption, imagine the gains of, for example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supervising illicit drugs, parallel to their work on food and
Accidental drug overdose is one of the many extremely detrimental risks associated with injection drug use. According to a study by Marshall (2003) that analyzed death rates of injection drug users before and after the opening of a safe injection facility in Vancouver demonstrated the facility`s effectiveness through a comparison of the rates of fatal overdose before and after in the area of the clinic to rates before and after in another part of the city that the facility was not accessible. This study revealed that the fatal overdose rate in the area of the facility decreased by 35% after the...
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.,
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.
Needle exchange programs are defined as a program, which intended to slow the spread of AIDS among IV drug users. It provides factual information and education for drug users and community so that the use of drugs has a minimal negative impact. (Watson 1991: 14) The first needle exchange programs began to emerge across Europe in the mid- 1980’s and have become famous health strategy around the world. In Canada, NEPs was officially opened in Ontario in 1987 and Vancouver in 1989, and a total of 28 NEPs were operational by February 1993. Today, there are more than 100 NEPs functioning around Canada, most of which earn federal and provincial funding. Needle exchange programs aim to provide injection and encourage the utilization of sterile needle syringes and other paraphernalia among injecting drug u...
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?
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...
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
Adele Ferguson. “Glass Ceiling Scratched not broken.” The (Melbourne Age) 7 March 2014: Page 28