Heroin-Assisted Therapy as a Form of Harm Reduction

Vancouver, British Columbia is well-known for their pioneering of harm reduction strategies. Not only do they have Insite (North America's only legal supervised injection site), mobile vans distributing clean needles, and new crack pipe vending machines, but they also have a clinic that through two studies (NAOMI and SALOME) was able to provider users with pharmaceutical heroin.  The basis providing this prescription heroin, is similar to that for methadone, in that it helps to reduce illicit drug use, reduce the harms associated with addiction, and helps these individuals have a chance at recovery.

You can find out more about the two studies mentioned above and the efficacy and impact of heroin-assisted therapy by checking out this fantastic article: "Vancouver - Giving Junkies A Fix To Keep Them Off The Streets" by Travis Lupick.

For more information on Vancouver's harm reduction tactics and news on how Providence Health Care and participants in this program have gone to the Supreme Court to fight for the right to continuing prescribing heroin, see some of the articles below:

• "There's A Crack Pipe Vending Machine In Vancouver" by Garth Mullins (VICE)
• "Prescription Heroin Case Going to Supreme Court" by Andrea Woo (Globe and Mail)
• "Federal Heroin Prohibitions Violate BC Patients' Charter Rights, Lawyer Argues" by Andrea Woo (Globe and Mail)
• "Canada's Health Minister Fails to Explain Ottawa's Policies on Harm Reduction" by Travis Lupick (Straight.com)
• "Photos: Portland Hotel Society's Mobile Needle Exchange" (Globe and Mail)

---