Corrections Canada to distribute items for 'safe snorting' in federal prisons

The Correctional Service of Canada has confirmed that paper straws will soon be distributed in federal prisons to facilitate safe snorting of drugs.

This week a social media post included photos of a memo distributed to Corrections staff stating that paper straws were being newly “introduced” for “safer snorting” and “intended for inhaling substances in powdered form or inhaling vapour from heated substances.”

The explanation provided was that paper straws will “reduce harm” by lessening the risk of internal nose cuts that could occur from homemade or plastic straws and reduce infections from diseases such as hepatitis B and C, while “recognizing that overdose and toxicity risk remain.”

Meanwhile, according to the memo, foil strips are to be distributed “for safer smoking.” So were drug-testing strips for fentanyl, benzodiazepine and xylazine.

The memo states that these items are being introduced “in response to increased inhalation, smoking and snorting substances among federal inmates” adding that “harm reduction must adapt to reduce overdose risks, prevent the transmission of infectious diseases and align with current evidence-based practices.”

The new harm reduction items if found on their own, should not result in criminal charges, but the memo states that if they are “found alongside illicit substances or unauthorized paraphernalia, standard operational procedures … must be followed.”

In a statement emailed to National Post by Correctional Service Canada communications officer Laurence Côté, the CSC confirmed that the document shown in the social media post is genuine and “was developed … to provide information to all employees regarding the expansion of harm reduction products.”

The CSC stated that its health services include “harm reduction measures” designed to prevent and minimize “harms related to substance use.”

It says its National Drugs and Substances Strategy recognizes substance use as a health issue, and therefore approved harm reduction supplies are not considered contraband.

However, the counterbalance to provide these “safe snorting” items seems to be that the CSC says it “maintains robust measures” to address “introduction, trafficking, financing, and distribution of unauthorized substances … within its institutions, and holds those involved accountable.”

Finally, the CSC stated that harm reduction interventions “are widely recognized as cost-effective because they help prevent the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C, reducing the need for significantly more expensive medical treatment and long-term health care costs associated with these conditions.”

Training for Health Services staff responsible for distributing the supplies to inmates is set to begin on Oct, 1, ahead of planned implementation on Oct. 13. At that time, says the CSC, “Health Services staff will provide education and guidance to support informed and appropriate use of these supplies.”

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