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The Canadian Prison Service is planning to open overdose prevention sites by developing a needle exchange program which is now being offered in a fifth facility for offenders who inject drugs into contraband.
In a statement, the Correctional Service of Canada stated that it "was in the early stages of exploring overdose prevention sites as another harm reduction option for inmates" .
According to advocates, the Drumheller Institution in Alberta is considered a potential site that would allow offenders to use illicit drugs under medical supervision. The Correctional Service did not respond to inquiries to confirm this.
Jason Godin, President of the Union of Correctional Officers of Canada, said he had long been lobbying for overdose prevention sites and that a site was proposed for Drumheller.
"At the very least, let's start by opening up (the sites) so we can get away from the needles in the cell," he said, adding that drug use under surveillance would involve health professionals working in hospitals. a given area in a prison instead of the guards being confronted with inmates who inject contraband into their cells.
He added that the needle exchange program, which began last year, should be abandoned because nurses and doctors are no longer available in most institutions after 16 hours. in case of overdose, sites dedicated to prevention make more sense, as long as they have sufficient staff.
"So far, the government has not agreed to give us health care 24 hours a day," he said.
"They want us to stop the drugs and yet they give them a needle and tell them to continue and use drugs if you wish."
The Correctional Service stated that its needle exchange program was aimed at preventing the spread of blood-borne diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis C, as well as skin infections caused by the sharing of blood. Equipment, as part of other harm reduction measures, including access to peer support. opioid substitution drugs, namely methadone and Suboxone.
The Nova Women's Institution in Truro, NS, has set up a prisoner-to-prison needle exchange program earlier this month, following its launch last June at the Grand Valley Institution for Women of Kitchener, Ontario, and Atlantic Institution of Renous, NB This year, it was expanded to the Fraser Valley Women 's Institution in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and to the. Edmonton Women's Institution.
READ MORE: B.C. measures taken to reduce the high number of overdose deaths among new inmates
READ MORE: Opioid crisis could shorten life expectancy for British Columbians
Mr. Godin said that at least two safety issues had been reported since the launch of the needle exchange program, one involving a missing needle and the other when there was no need for it. an inmate had left his injection kit with the cell door open, potentially allowing unauthorized access to the equipment presented a danger to the guards or other people.
The correctional service stated that there was only one incident when an offender had not followed the proper procedure and that the person had been "rebadessed and counseled" although she did not want to give details.
"The inmates who participate in the (program) must keep their needle kit in their cells, safely," he added, adding that a kit lost or containing unrecorded items as well unauthorized use of the equipment could be disciplined.
The service reported that 13 inmates had been approved for the needle exchange program in the five facilities but only five were participating in the program, the others having been released or transferred to prisons that had not still started offering this service.
Peter Brown, a former delinquent who served three prison terms in various facilities in eastern Canada between 1992 and 1999 for crimes involving robbery, said that a program of exchange of Syringes and overdose prevention sites are essential behind bars because drug use is common.
Brown, 45, said that he had started using intravenous drugs in 1996 while he was serving his sentence at the Atlantic Renous facility and that he was there. had continued until 2014, well after his release.
"I have shared needles again and again that other people used. I've seen guys share syringes in groups of five or six and sit with the same syringe in a circle, "he said in Halifax, where he is completing a social service program. while sitting on the national board of directors the Seventh Step Society, which provides peer support to ex-offenders.
Brown said that he had used the bleach provided by the correctional service to repeatedly rinse his needles and syringes to prevent transmission of HIV and hepatitis C. The service says that bleach is still distributed to inmates for this reason.
Sandra Ka Hon Chu, director of research and advocacy for the Canadian HIV / AIDS Legal Network, said bleach was not as effective a method to prevent transmission of blood-borne diseases clean needles, for which the group has been lobbying for similar programs in many European countries for almost 20 years.
Chu said the Correctional Service's needle exchange program is "fundamentally flawed" because it provides insufficient access and the application process is expensive, requiring multiple levels of approval.
"We can deny them access for what they perceive as an incompatibility with the program that is not related to health," she said. "It's a health care program at its very root, and it's touted as a priority health safety issue, and it's not something you see in the community."
– Follow @ CamilleBains1 on Twitter.
Camille Bains, Canadian Press
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