AIDS Saint John records higher than ever numbers at needle exchange

AIDS Saint John is seeing higher than ever numbers at its needle exchange, and addiction workers are trying to figure out what's behind the worsening trend.

The needle distribution program handed out 306,000 needles to intravenous drugs users this year, compared to 240,000 the year prior.

"It's a lot, trust me, it's a lot," said Julie Dingwell, executive director of AIDS Saint John.

"And the worrisome thing for us is not fully knowing what the rise indicates."

The organization is noting drug users have begun injecting crack and cocaine at an increasing rate, and methamphetamine is also coming onto the scene.

The city's five methadone programs are full, Dingwell told Information Morning Saint John, and there is an ever-growing wait list.

The records show new people are signing up every month at the needle distribution centre.

"So we know there are new users, and if people are injecting crack or cocaine, they tend to inject many more times," she said.

"We're all running as fast as we can, trying to put more structure into methadone, into other treatments, and we're all scrambling to be trained with nalaxone."

Naloxone is used to reverse the effects of opioids such as fentanyl, which has contributed to thousands of overdose deaths in Canada.

According to Health Canada, fatal opiod overdoses are up from  2016's then-record 2,861 deaths, with 2,923 victims in just the first nine months of 2017.

War on drugs 'complete failure'

In New Brunswick, the province bought 2,500 nalaxone kits for front-line addiction workers throughout the province, in response to the growing opiod epidemic in Canada.

AIDS Saint John has trained about 100 people so far in the community, and by the summer it hopes to train another 200.

"The last couple decades we've had this big war on drug approach, really hard-hitting, and we know that's been a complete failure," Dingwell said.

"Many people have serious drug issues, and also suffer from PTSD. People already coming to us have many challenges in their life … it's so encompassing of families, of communities and it's going to take us all to get a handle on it."

AIDS Saint John also handed out about 8,000 safer inhalation pipes — about 500 more than this time last year. And it's been asked to begin distributing crystal meth pipes.

"So that is brand new to us, not that we haven't known about crystal meth, but that we need to be prepared," Dingwell said. "So we're doing that.

"What we want to do is keep people in as good as health as possible until they make a lifestyle change."

Peer health navigators

The organization is applying to the federal government for a pilot project that would see peer helpers become peer health navigators for drug users.

Under the proposal, these workers would help addicts with accessing health-care services and taking better care of themselves.

"I think we have to hit it from all angles and that's exactly what we're trying to do," Dingwell said.

"I expect in a year we'll be better equipped to speak to what's going on, and how effective it's going to be."

Every spring, AIDS Saint John looks back over its numbers from the past year to get a picture of drug use in the city.