Pubdate: Mon, 26 May 2003
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Safe Injecting Rooms)

HEALTH MINISTRY CASH STARTS INJECTION SITE CONSTRUCTION

Interim Survey Of Health Services For Drug Addicts Shows Minimal Disruption 
Of Use Of Services Despite Major Police Crackdown On Open Drug Market

Construction has started on Vancouver's injection site for drug users, 
thanks to money that has come through from the B.C. health ministry.

As well, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority has rented additional space 
on East Hastings Street to create a larger site than originally envisioned, 
says Heather Hay, director of health services for the Downtown Eastside.

The site, which will be the first of its kind in North America, still needs 
approval from Health Canada to be exempted from the normal provisions of 
the country's drug laws.

In the meantime, an interim survey of health services for drug addicts in 
the Downtown Eastside indicates there have been only minor impacts because 
of a police crackdown on open drug dealing that began April 7.

The police crackdown has caused significant concern among community and 
health advocates, who say that Vancouver's drug strategy was supposed to 
ensure the city's addictions problems were tackled with a new, 
multi-faceted approach that didn't just rely on police enforcement.

They have warned that police crackdowns end up having negative health 
impacts on drug addicts, who use more dangerous methods to pass drugs from 
one person to another and to inject.

And they've said the crackdown, which is supposed to be focused on major 
dealers, is in fact turning into general harassment of any users or 
low-level user-dealers, who are then reluctant to go out onto the street to 
get to health services.

An internal memo from the health authority notes that Vancouver Native 
Health and street nurses are reporting seeing fewer people or having a hard 
time making contact with their usual patients.

However, the interim survey found no indications that fewer people are 
coming into the downtown health centres for methadone or antiretroviral 
medications. The coroner's service reports six deaths from overdoses since 
April 7, the same number as in April 2002. As well, the Downtown Eastside 
Youth Activities Society has reported no drop in its needle-exchange service.

Another group, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, which distributes 
needles on the street as opposed to using a van and an established clinic 
like DEYAS, has reported its needle and condom distribution patterns have 
dropped drastically since the police action.

Hay said the survey isn't meant to be definitive.

"It's really difficult to find rigorous facts in this environment," she 
said. "We've done what we can to do an environmental scan."

Hay said that while the statistics indicate the number of people using the 
health system has remained relatively stable, "we still don't have a good 
understanding of the impact on those not accessing the system."

Hay said the authority will continue to monitor the impact of police 
activity during the crackdown, which police have said they will continue 
until July 7. After that, any continuation of the special anti-drug-dealing 
effort will depend on their own assessment of its effectiveness and whether 
council provides money to keep it going.

Criminology studies from other countries have indicated that police efforts 
to break up established drug markets are complex efforts that can produce 
unintended negative consequences.

One study from Sydney, Australia documented through street observations 
that when a police crackdown was in effect, addicts and dealers began 
storing drugs in their noses and mouths, stopped carrying injection 
equipment with them since it only attracted negative police attention, and 
injected in more dangerous ways, using water on the street or not testing 
their drugs to get a sense of the strength.

All of those practices are more likely to lead to infections or overdoses.

As well, the 1999 study, published in the British Journal of Criminology, 
indicated that the drug market in a police crackdown became unstable, 
bringing in more novice or risk-taking dealers who were more violent. It 
also developed more sophisticated patterns, using more people or "drive-by" 
drug dealing.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager