Canada - Controversial Clinic Gives Heroin to Addicts (Video)

Controversial Clinic Gives Heroin to Addicts
CBC
September 27th, 2016

Watch the video here.

Text version:

If you met Lisa James, chances are you'd never guess she injects herself with heroin twice a day.

She's a devoted mom to her daughter Tia, 24, who has a rare neurological disorder that causes tumours to grow on her spine and brain.

She comforts Tia when she's overcome with nausea. She's by her side when she visits doctors.

"My relationship with my daughter is better than it's ever been," says James, 48.

But James says it wasn't so long ago, her days were spent doing absolutely anything to score heroin.

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Read the full story here.

I am pleasantly surprised to see such a positive portrayal of heroin maintenance in Canada's flagship national news program.

Beautiful story. I'm also pleasantly surprised to see such a positive portrayal so quickly. (maybe not timed like that but seems coincidental)

Interesting that she's IMing her heroin. With the right sterile dosage does it not really matter?

Wasn't this women's story in the documentary THE TRUTH ABOUT HEROIN. I swear I saw this couple hears ago

I've been following this one real closely. I'm thrilled to see that this kind of treatment has made its way to North America. At least we have "our foot in the door" so to speak. It's one thing if it's happening in Switzerland, which is worlds away to the average American and a whole other for it to be happening in Canada, our more polite, less disheveled neighbors to the North. I think this is really awesome. I've even been hounding the Crosstown Clinic through e-mail on a weekly basis trying to get them to accept some junkie from New England as a special case, but alas, have not even received any return correspondence.

Anyway, what I'm really curious about is dosage per patient. It would help me get a better idea of what being a part of one of these programs actually looks like. I followed the "sister" program to the Diamorphine, the SALMOE study that was done with Hydromorphone (Dilaudid, Exalgo, Palladone etc.) and was again, curious to know exactly what dosages these folks were working with. I found it very interesting that a large section of those enrolled couldn't differentiate between the Hydromorphone and the Heroin. In my experience, Hydromorphone can have as little as half of the duration of effect as Heroin or Morphine.

Nice to see that Canada is finally treating addicts as human beings. They at least recognize that people are going to use nevertheless, and won't demonize them for it. Meanwhile, in America, if you want to join a Methadone clinic, they tend to use anything from your intake that's even remotely incriminating against you, especially if you're on probation, or have some other legal restraint.

Felonious Monk said:

Beautiful story. I'm also pleasantly surprised to see such a positive portrayal so quickly. (maybe not timed like that but seems coincidental)

Interesting that she's IMing her heroin. With the right sterile dosage does it not really matter?

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I would be surprised if it mattered. As you said, sterile, pharmaceutical grade. The only reason you shouldn't do it with street heroin is bacteria can get trapped and multiply. Whereas with IV the bacteria is spread out where it can be killed by your immune system before forming any stronghold to multiply. Another reason it might be IM is it probably lasts longer. IM is likely substantially slower onset of action, which equates to longer duration of action. And in my experience IVing heroin you're cutting it real close trying to get by with even only 2 shots a day morning and night without getting sick. It's a big enough pain in the ass coming in every day for methadone just once.