Injection needle demand jumps in Brandon

Advocates on the front line of the methcrisis in Brandon, Man., saynew numbers showing a rise in needle distribution are shockingbut not surprising.

The demand for injection needles from local health authorities has soared acrossManitoba over the last three years, their data says.

The numbers are particularly stark in communities outside of Winnipeg.In Manitoba's four rural regional health authorities, demand for needles is seven times what it was in 2016.

"I was really, really sad to hear it, but unfortunately, I wasn't surprised," saidAntoinette Gravel-Ouellette, an advocate for a detox centre in Brandonand mother of a woman who has battledopioid addiction.

Gravel-Ouellettesaid while the numbers are concerning, a higher demand for needles could also be a sign that people aren't reusing dirty needlesand are feeling safe enough to approach health-care providers for new ones.

"It provides hope that we're helping," she said.

In Prairie Mountain Health, in which Brandon is the biggest community, the number of needles being distributeddoubled in one year, from approximately95,000 to 187,000.

The data was obtained by theOppositionNDPthrough a freedom of information request.

"I was shocked, but I shouldn't have been, becauseI also know [drug use] hasincreased," Gravel-Ouellettesaid.

"I hear about people dyingand people using, and I hear about it all over the place in rural Manitoba."

BrandonBear Clan sees more needles

Roberta MacKinnon, one of the founders of Brandon's Bear Clan safety patrol, said her group sees the increase in needles on the street.

"We're finding more and more needles. That's the difference that we see," she said.

When the volunteer group started patrolling the streets of Brandon in June 2017, they picked up between 50 and 60 used needles per month, she said.

In the last few months, they are collecting between 200 and 280 a month, she said.

"You can go to Prairie Mountain Health in Brandon and they'll give them out, no questions asked," she said.

"In a way, it's good, because at least they are using safe needles and clean needles. In another way, it's not so good, because they're not returning the ones they got."

Brandon Bear Clan sees rise in discarded needles

6 years ago

Duration 2:56

Roberta MacKinnon, one of the founders of Brandon's Bear Clan safety patrol, says her group is seeing an increase in discarded needles in the streets.

Advocate Kim Longstreet said the jump in needle distribution isanother sign that Brandon needs more services for people with addictions, including a safe consumption site.

She's been pushingfor more resources in the community since her son became addicted to meth two years ago.

"I've seen some pretty harsh things in my own community with needles. We started taking needles out of dumpsters because we knew that people would be taking them [out of there] and using them," she said.

"Maybe the message is getting across about using clean needles."