The procedure is hard to watch: A 52-year-old woman takes a syringe filled with heroin and carefully inserts it into a vein in the side of her neck.
As she pulls out the syringe, she checks herself in the mirror and notices a trickle of blood coming from the tiny wound. She wipes it with a sterile pad and she’s done.
…
People suffering from infectious diseases are receiving better treatment and another report released last week by the B.C. Centre showed 29 injection drug users in the province were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2012 compared to more than 400 per year prior to 1996.
When asked what role Insite played in the remarkable drop in HIV/AIDS cases, Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the B.C. Centre, pointed to a progressive province-wide strategy to stop the spread of the deadly virus, including access to free antiretroviral therapy drugs that can reduce HIV transmission.
That strategy, he said, coupled with the services of Insite and its detox facilities – called Onsite and spread over two floors above the injection room -play a big part in preventing drug users from contracting HIV/AIDS.
Insite, which has more than 12,000 registered users, is stocked with clean injection equipment and staffed with nurses and counselors that educate clients about safe injection practices.
 At Onsite, doctors, nurses, mental health workers and counselors work together to help stabilize recently sober users and plan their next steps in life.
“Why are we the only jurisdiction in the world that is seeing dramatic decreases in HIV cases all together, but more so in the intravenous injection use?” Montaner said, then answered his own question by again pointing to “low-threshold” services such as Insite which serves street-entrenched drug users prone to infectious disease.
Mike Howell
Vancouver Courier
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