EXCHANGING NEEDLES THE EASY WAY

SOME HEROIN and cocaine users feel embarrassed stopping by the needle
exchange and picking up clean, free syringes.

Instead, they risk deadly disease by sharing needles with others when they
shoot up.

Particularly in small communities, closet drug users fear acquaintances
will spot them at the exchange.

Fortunately, swapping old syringes for new ones in Quesnel can be done
discreetly and anonymously.

The needle exchange sits in the Tillicum Society's busy friendship centre,
and is open everyday from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

"There are lots of programs in here. You could be coming in for anything,"
says Marie Debow, the HIV prevention worker who dispenses free needles, no
questions asked.

Users can also ask someone else to get the needles for them.

About 20 people regularly use the needle exchange. The average age is 30.
Regulars often pick up needles for friends.

Users usually bring in 20 needles, drop them in a yellow waste container in
Marie's office, and get 20 sterilized needles in return. If they save up
old needles and bring in, say, 200, they will get 20 new ones.

The exchange currently hands out about 500 needles a month.

By sharing needles, drug users run the risk of injecting themselves with
sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and hepatitis.

B.C. runs 25 exchanges. Quesnel's helps locals as well as transient users
fresh out of the drug cultures of Vancouver and other urban centres.

Exchanges are part of programs to reduce harm done to drug users.

"You got to get people to stay alive long enough to quit (drugs)," Marie says.

She can make referrals for detox, counseling, social services, vaccinations
and many other kinds of help.

Bigger syringes for shooting steroids are available, as are water packets
for filling needles.

Marie has worked in Vancouver's eastside and seen users inject themselves
with dirty water from puddles on the street. Users need not risk their
health that way, she says.

Free condoms sit in baskets at the friendship centre for anyone who needs
them. The centre distributes about 12,000 rubbers a year.