Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on Motion M-454, introduced by the hon. member for Vancouver East.
The purpose of her motion is to make sensible and regulated treatment options available to health professionals and the injection drug users under their medical supervision.
With Motion M-454, which calls for the implementation of clinical trials of prescription heroin, the hon. member for Vancouver East hopes to get parliamentarians to give serious thought to the extent of the drug addiction problem in Canada, with the ultimate goal of reducing street drug related crime, protecting the community, and saving lives.
As part of its national action plan submitted in May 1997, a expert task force on HIV/AIDS and drug issues gave a status report on the situation in Canada. At present, Canada is experiencing a true public health crisis as far as HIV/AIDS and injection drug use is concerned.
The age of those infected is constantly dropping; the average age of new HIV-positive people has gone from 32 years to 23. Since the penal system has not taken any remedial action, it has become one of the places the virus is being spread. The over-representation of aboriginal people among the groups at risk is of the greatest concern.
Because of this, there are several underlying principles against which the steps to be taken can be assessed. There are several different approaches.
In the past, the favoured approach in treating drug addiction was abstinence, or a total break with the substance being abused. While this approach is perfectly valid, more and more experts recognize that this is not always the best solution.
Abstinence, in the case of drug addiction, is not always a realistic objective achievable in the short term. It would be better, in the interest of public health, to consider other solutions.
There is also the harm reduction approach. This approach neither tolerates nor condemns the use of drugs. In fact, it allows the user to continue to consume, but at the same time encourages the taking of various steps to reduce the harm of consuming. This approach therefore does not rule abstinence out as the ultimate goal of an individual wanting it, but it takes a more progressive approach with the aim primarily of minimizing the negative effects of the use of drugs.
Needle exchange and condom distribution services, instruction on safe injection methods and the provision of locations for injections are part of the harm reduction approach. More and more studies are concluding in its favour. Motion M-451 is right in line with this thinking.
Long term treatment with methadone is used for people with a heroin dependency of over 30 years. With the emergence of the HIV epidemic among intravenous drug users, there is more interest in methadone or other opioid agonist treatment. Long term treatment is associated with a reduction in risky behaviour associated with injection, a reduction in new cases of HIV infection in treated populations, reduced consumption of opiates, lower crime and death rates and rehabilitation in the community.
In the Vancouver area, a health emergency has been declared because of an epidemic of HIV infections among intravenous drug users. This health emergency affects all large urban centres in Canada, particularly those where drug use is on the increase.
Faced with this situation, we must lay all possible options on the table. We must also take a look at what is being done in other countries, such as Switzerland, Germany, England and the Netherlands.
When the Swiss government decided to issue heroin prescriptions on a trial basis throughout the country in 1994, the social advantages of keeping people on heroin were amply demonstrated.
The results were as follows: a 60% reduction in criminal offences; a 60% drop in revenue from illegal or semi-legal activities; a spectacular reduction in heroin and cocaine use; a 14% to 32% increase in the number of participants holding down a steady job; a considerable increase in their physical health and, in most cases, a noticeable drop in links maintained with the drug world; no deaths attributable to overdoses and no prescription drug sold on the black market; a net economic benefit of $30 per patient, per day, largely because of the reduction in costs related to health care and the administration of the criminal justice system.
We cannot remain indifferent to human problems such as drug addiction and to its terrible repercussions, indeed to any human suffering. It is imperative that we open our minds to any possible solutions. Sometimes, this will require thinking differently, exploring new avenues.
That is what Motion M-454 does. And for that, we must thank the member for Vancouver East, who has shown much determination and devotion to the cause of helping the most disadvantaged members of society.