Health care workers not surprised by number of used needles collected in Sudbury

Outreach workers with the Sudbury Youth Action Centre collected 13,000 used needles in November, but that number doesn't surprise health care workers who help treat addiction in the community.

"The average person injects multiple times a day, so it shouldn't really be a huge shock," says Dr. Mike Franklyn, an addictions specialist based in Sudbury.

Franklyn says the frequency of use depends on the drug. Cocaine users can inject themselves up to 15 times a day, while opiates might be used four or six times a day.

And if people are using more needles, Franklyn says that's actually a good thing.

"It might seem counterintuitive, but it's sort of a good news story. What we don't want is people reusing or sharing needles."

Franklyn says more people are using intravenous drugs than ever before, and that increases the risk of infection and disease. He wants to see more funding for exchange programs that provide clean needles, even if that means more of them end up on the streets.

"Some individual patients cost a quarter million dollars a year to treat. That buys a lot of needles, if people can get clean needles and educated about which drugs to use and which ones not to," Franklyn says.

Intravenous drug use on the rise

The Sudbury and District Health Unit currently operates a harm reduction service called The Point, which offers free needles and injection equipment, along with information about safer drug use.

Public health nurse Ginette Cyr says the health unit has distributed more than 1 million needles in 2017, more than the previous year.

"There has been an increase not just in Sudbury, but across the province."

The health unit currently has a 70 per cent return rate for used needles, but Cyr says they are continuing to educate people to safely throw out their needles at one of five disposal bins in the city.

Cyr adds these statistics aren't just about needles — they're about people struggling with addiction.

"It's people, what they've lived and what they've experienced. So it's concerning."