An Edmonton doctor helped the province overcome a deadly crisis in the early 1990s.
Dr. Stan Houston said a revolutionary tactic was introduced to help fight HIV: harm reduction.
The HIV and infectious disease physician helped create resources such as a needle exchange program, which proved effective and evolved over the years into safe injection services.
“While people can get HIV in a number of ways, the dangerous injection is one of them,” he explained in a letter. “While Albertans may imagine that we run into some political and ideological objections along the way, there is a growing understanding that these are public health measures necessary to protect Albertans and reduce pressure on healthcare. “.
Rates of new HIV infections from injections have dropped substantially over the past 30 years, due in part to the programs Houston and his team helped facilitate, as well as improvements in treatment.
“When HIV first struck, Alberta perhaps surprised other provinces by being a leader in making (needed drugs) available to anyone who needed them with great success.”
Houston said there are parallels between that crisis and the current one: opioid poisoning.
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But the path to helping those Albertans seems different.
“Inexplicably, we are doing the opposite. Instead of looking for things that we can implement and improve, we have reduced services. “
Houston called the move “illogical” and “not good science or public health,” compared to the success of HIV harm reduction programs.
The Alberta government said it is “completely focused on the recovery.” In recent weeks, the province introduced new treatment methods, such as an injectable drug, that helps people control cravings and protect against an overdose.
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Alberta recently became the first province in Canada to fully cover the cost of sublocation. Unlike the tablet versions, the injectable treatment lasts on a person’s system for 30 days and provides stabilization, reduces cravings and provides improved protection against overdose, the province said.
Dr. Elaine Hyskha told Global News on December 8 that removing cost barriers for that treatment option is a positive step. But, there are still drugs that are not currently covered by the province.
“I would like the coverage gap program to be further extended to support oral slow-release morphine, which is increasingly used by many physicians in Alberta and across Canada as an effective treatment for opioid use disorder,” he said. .
“I would also like the province to reopen access to the injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT) program that closed last year,” Hyshka said.
Dr. Rebecca Haines-Saah said she would like to see different tools used to address the crisis, such as an exploration of decriminalization.
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British Columbia became the first province to officially apply to the federal government for an exemption from criminal penalties for people who possess small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use. This came after Vancouver submitted its own proposal to Health Canada in June.
Haines-Saah said it is also time to change our mindset on the stigma of opioid use.
“Many people use substances (such as alcohol) and the substances we use are harmful. But only some substances are illegal. “
With file from Saba Aziz.
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