Topic: Harm Reduction
US drug policy at the UN. Is the glass becoming more than half full?
Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 03/12/2010 - 11:55am
Allan Clear, Huffington PostHere's the good news: From what I'm seeing here on the ground here at the 53rd annual
UN global drug policy meeting in Vienna, the public face of US drug policy has changed overall under the new administration -- and for the better. There's a more humane, compassionate message, plus a greater understanding of both drugs and drug users. Only time will tell where this will lead, but it's a start. And a very welcome one, too.
UN global drug policy meeting in Vienna, the public face of US drug policy has changed overall under the new administration -- and for the better. There's a more humane, compassionate message, plus a greater understanding of both drugs and drug users. Only time will tell where this will lead, but it's a start. And a very welcome one, too.
BMJ Group honours Dr Evan Wood with a Doctor of the Year award for Insite evaluation
Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 03/12/2010 - 11:52am
One of the world’s leading providers of trusted medical information and services, BMJ Group, today recognized Dr. Evan Wood, lead researcher at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CFE), for his groundbreaking research in HIV, public health, illicit drug policy and addiction.BMJ Group, publisher of the BMJ (British Medical Journal), named Dr. Wood as the recipient of its first
annual Junior Doctor of the Year honour, which is provided to a physician who is early in their career and
has done the most to improve the world we live in or to inspire others.
Global AIDS conference in Vienna to focus on Eastern Europe
Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:38am
Earth TimesVienna - Rising HIV infections in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are one key issue to be discussed at this year's international AIDS conference in Vienna in July, organizers said Wednesday.
The biennial event is set to draw 25,000 participants and is organized by HIV experts with support from UN organizations.
In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the occurrence of HIV has almost doubled since 2001.
"To break the trajectory of the HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe, we must stop infections among injecting drug users and their partners," said Michel Sidibe, the head of UNAIDS, the United Nations programme on prevention and treatment.
Leader's death devastates drug activists
Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 9:54am
Luh De Suriyani, The Jakarta PostI Gusti Ngurah Wahyunda, coordinator of IKON Bali, an organization of former drug users fighting for equal rights and humane treatment, died Friday.
Known as an outspoken activist and intellectual, Wahyunda had managed to drive in recent years the issues on drug users' rights and tribulations into the public consciousness.
"He was my role model," former drug addict Gung Kik said.
"Through his actions and his life he made me believe that no matter how many times we fell down we would have the power to stand up again."
Parklea Prison needs needle program: expert
Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 12:25pm
Rouse Hill TimesOFFICERS at Parklea Correctional Centre should demand a regulated needle exchange program to protect themselves from HIV and hepatitis C, according to new research.
A paper published in the Journal of Health, Safety and Environment found that despite strict controls, drugs do enter prison and prisoners are contracting blood borne viruses through unsafe injecting.
Lead author John Ryan said: “Prison authorities know prisoners are injecting, so they can foresee a risk to staff. But, they are not taking reasonable measures to control the risk through regulated needle access, so are acting irresponsibly as employers. Research suggests that seven percent of prison officers may suffer accidental needle-stick injury.”
Saved from the grip of despair
Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 12:21pm
The Hounslow ChronicleASIF (not his real name) was a successful salesman, with a smart suit and company car, when he started injecting heroin to cope with his personal problems.
But after five years, the 32-year-old was determined to quit, having been sucked into a life of petty crime and drug-pushing.
A year after walking into Hounslow's Drugs Advice Intervention and Skills centre (DAIS) - and after a number of false starts - he has been clean for nearly two months and describes it as the best decision he has made.
Committee organizes sex work seminar
Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 11:30am
Posted By Expositor StaffSex Work 101 is the title of an upcoming workshop sponsored by the Sex Trade Resource Empowerment and Education Team committee of Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk.
The workshop will take place at the Brantford Polish Hall, 154 Pearl St., from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 8. The cost of the seminar is $20 to be paid at the door.
Awareness, strategies and local testimonials will be included in the seminar which will feature presentations by a harm reduction worker, a counsellor from the Sexual Assault Centre of Brant and a former local sex trade worker.
Emory Investigates AIDS in Atlanta
Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 11:38am
By Alice Chen, EmoryWheel.comThe majority of HIV cases in Atlanta are concentrated in one particular metropolitan area, according to researchers at the Emory Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).
The results, which were presented at the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in San Francisco last month, showed that 60 percent of cases in Atlanta are found in the downtown area. This “cluster,” or defined geographical area, is characterized by high rates of poverty and behaviors that are known to increase risk of disease, according to CFAR member and research co-author Brooke Hixson.
A BRIEF DISCRIPTION OF AIDS
Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 11:33am
By James Hall, The Swazi ObserverThis column receives enquiries about AIDS-related matters and our policy is to forward information requests to the many relevant AIDS groups active in the country.
However, a series of questions from a school girl arrived this week, “What is AIDS and HIV, what are the symptoms and how do you test for it?” She was writing a paper and could not find simple but complete answers in the sources she was consulting.
It is refreshing from time to time to get down to the basics, to renew for ourselves our understanding of issues. In this spirit and with the hope that this information will assist other students at work on this subject, this week we ask and answer:
It is refreshing from time to time to get down to the basics, to renew for ourselves our understanding of issues. In this spirit and with the hope that this information will assist other students at work on this subject, this week we ask and answer:
The Muzzling of a Cop
Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Thu, 03/04/2010 - 11:29am
By. Norm Stamper
David Bratzer is a young, soft-spoken police officer with the Victoria (British Columbia) Police Department. He comes from a law enforcement family; two of his brothers are VicPD officers. Thoughtful, well spoken, Bratzer loves being a cop and serving his community. But now he's been ordered not to air his views on the most compelling of all public safety issues.
Bratzer was deeply affected by the serial killings of prostitutes in and around Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The infamous pig farmer Robert "Willie" Pickton was convicted in 2007 of the murders of six women, though he's confessed to a total of 49 killings (he'd hoped to make it an even 50 but he "got sloppy" and got caught). Following the progress of the trial, Bratzer drew a connection between the murder victims and their circumstances: Pickton's victims were drug addicts, most of them working the streets in order to finance their habit. Bratzer concluded that Canada's drug laws had contributed to, and in a very real sense, caused the deaths of these women.
