STICKING POINTS: BARRIERS TO ACCESS TO NEEDLE AND SYRINGE PROGRAMS IN CANADA

1
STICKING POINTSBARRIERS TO ACCESS TO NEEDLE AND
SYRINGE PROGRAMS IN CANADA

• Harm Reduction Anything New?
• XVII International AIDS Conference
• Mexico City
• Wednesday August 6, 2008
• Alison Symington
• asymington_at_aidslaw.ca
• www.aidslaw.ca

2
Sticking Points

• Sticking Points is the first comprehensive
  assessment of access to needle and syringe
  programs across Canada, with human rights-based
  recommendations for policy and practice.
• This Issue
• Barriers persist that prevent people who use
  drugs from access to sufficient sterile injection
  equipment from needle and syringe programs
  (NSPs).
• Estimated that NSPs currently distribute only
  about 5 of syringes needed to sterile equipment
  at every injection.

3
Findings

• Numerous barriers to NSP access identified
• criminal laws on drugs and drug paraphernalia
• law enforcement practices
• judicially-imposed conditions restricting access
  to NSPs
• barriers related to program design
• stigma and privacy concerns
• community resistance
• inappropriate use of municipal by-laws
• insufficient funding

4
Recommendations

• Require needs assessments by local health
  officials in every health region where needed,
  designate NSPs as required health services.
• Fund harm reduction services under federal
  government HIV, HCV and drug strategies.
• Amend federal criminal laws on drugs and drug
  paraphernalia to remove shadow of criminality
  over NSPs.
• Judges should not impose restrictions preventing
  access to harm reduction services.
• Re-design NSPs, in consultation with people who
  use drugs, with the goal of maximizing access.
• Municipalities should ensure zoning by-laws do
  not create hurdles for establishing NSPs.