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CLEAN NEEDLES BEHIND BARS LONG OVERDUE
Personal testimonies bring human dimension to addiction and drug use within Canadian prisons
TORONTO, February 2, 2010 - In a report documenting personal stories from those
most affected, people who have experienced prison are adding their voices to the growing
number of experts calling for needle and syringe programs in Canada's prisons.
Often visceral reading (see quotes further below), the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal
Network's newest publication, Under the Skin, draws on affidavits and testimonies from
people across Canada with experience using drugs or sharing needles inside a federal
prison, and puts a human face to the following harsh statistics, long known to prison
system administrators:
People in prison suffer at least 10 to 20 times higher rates of HIV and hepatitis C
virus (HCV) infection than the population as a whole;
Drug use occurs regularly in prisons, including by injection, among at least 11
percent of incarcerated people, according to the Correctional Service of Canada
(CSC);
Costly efforts by CSC to prevent drug use are not effective in reducing the spread
of blood-borne diseases like HIV and HCV; and
The vast majority (more than 90 percent) of people in prison eventually return to
the community, facilitating the spread of diseases transmitted and exacerbated in
prison.
"The words of these courageous men and women paint a portrait of avoidable suffering
and systemic discrimination that flies in the face of both international guidelines and
Canada's own Charter of Rights and Freedoms," says lawyer Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Senior
Policy Analyst at the Legal Network and the report's author. "The scientific evidence and
legal justifications for prison-based needle and syringe programs have long been
established - including in our report from last year, Clean Switch - yet still the
Canadian government will not implement these proven health services," she adds. "Our
lawmakers need to hear these harrowing testimonies and answer an urgent appeal for
dignity, health and human rights."
"Under the Skin demonstrates through human stories how counter-productive drug
prohibition is," adds Craig Jones, Executive Director of the John Howard Society of
Canada. "This is yet another warning to all Canadians: the unintended consequences of
drug prohibition include public health implications far beyond prison walls."
"Since 2006, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has been recommending that CSC
develop, implement and evaluate at least one pilot needle and syringe program in a
prison under its jurisdiction," says CMA President Dr. Anne Doig. The CMA position
reflects the consensus of a number of leading health and human rights organizations,
including the Ontario Medical Association, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the
UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Correctional Investigator of Canada and the Canadian
Human Rights Commission. Furthermore, a 2006 review of the scientific evidence by the
Public Health Agency of Canada concluded that prison-based needle and syringe
programs have largely positive outcomes for the health of people in prison.
Prior to Parliament's prorogation, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public
Safety and National Security was studying CSC's approach to addressing mental health
and addictions in federal penitentiaries. The Legal Network was scheduled to appear in
February to make the case that providing access to sterile injecting equipment to people
in prison would reduce the risks of harm associated with injection drug use, including the
transmission of HIV and HCV. With the release of this report, the Legal Network is also
calling on the Standing Committee on Health to take up this serious public health issue
and ensure that proven health services are no longer denied in prisons to those known to
be at much greater risk of infection with HIV and HCV.
Both reports, Under the Skin and Clean Switch, are available at
www.aidslaw.ca/publications.
About the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (www.aidslaw.ca) promotes the human
rights of people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, in Canada and
internationally, through research, legal and policy analysis, education, and
community mobilization. The Legal Network is Canada's leading advocacy
organization working on the legal and human rights issues raised by HIV/AIDS.
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For further information and interviews (with experts and people quoted in the
publication)::
Gilles Marchildon
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
+1 416 595-1666 ext. 228
Cell: +1 647 248-2400
gmarchildon@aidslaw.ca
Lucie Boileau
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
+1 613 731-8610 ext. 1266
+1 800 663-7336 ext. 1266
lucie.boileau@cma.ca
Craig Jones
The John Howard Society of Canada
cjones@johnhoward.ca
+1 613 384-6272 ext. 104
Cell: +1 613 331-1712
Selected quotes from Under the Skin:
"I've seen prisoners inject heroin, cocaine and speed with needles made with pens
and other materials. Most people shared their needles in prison."
"In the prison system, there are so many drugs around and so many people doing
them, it is very difficult to escape drug use."
"I would say about one-third of the prison population would inject. Drugs were easy
to get. Once drugs got in, guards didn't really care, because we were already in the
worst place we could possibly be in our life."
"I have a history of depression, and that in combination with a shoulder injury in my
twenties, meant drugs was an easy way out."
"I started using drugs to avoid thinking about life."
"I've seen the price of an addiction. I saw another guy who lost his left arm
because of a dirty needle."
"I've seen a needle so used that when I injected with it, it would rip my skin off."
"I've seen six guys use a single syringe without cleaning it."
"Disease is not just going to stay in prison. We are all going home."
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