Pubdate: Wed, 03 Mar 2004 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun, with files from Canadian Press Cited: Report of the International Narcotics Control Board http://www.incb.org/e/ar/2003/menu.htm Cited: Vancouver Coastal Health Authority http://www.vch.ca/ Cited: Canadian HIV Legal Network http://www.aidslaw.ca/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Larry+Campbell Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Downtown+Eastside Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Safe Injecting Rooms) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) UN NEEDLES CITY OVER INJECTION SITE A Defiant Mayor Larry Campbell Says the UN Drug Control Agency Is Merely an Arm of U.S. Drug Policy VANCOUVER - The United Nations' drug-control agency has criticized Vancouver's safe-injection site, saying it encourages drug use and violates international law. "When drug abusers can acquire illicit drugs and can take these illicit drugs into premises which are managed by the state or the town, then there is definitely complicity and we cannot accept that under the international drug control convention," Herbert Schaepe, secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board, said Tuesday. The INCB's annual report, released Tuesday, singles out Vancouver's site, which opened last September in the Downtown Eastside -- saying it violates the three international drug-control treaties Canada has signed. "The board notes with concern that ... the Government of Canada approved the establishment of a drug injection room in the city of Vancouver, the first such site in North America," it says. "Such sites are contrary to the fundamental provisions of the international drug control treaties." Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, who was elected in part on his promise to set up such a site, was defiant Tuesday, criticizing the INCB as being "without merit". "I don't think they have much credibility," said Campbell. "From my point of view, they're simply an arm of the U.S. drug policy, which I don't agree with. ... It's almost impossible to take them seriously." Campbell said there is already evidence that the site, which serves about 500 people a day, has reduced overdose deaths, helped addicts connect with drug treatment services and made the downtown core more livable. "There is certainly value in harm reduction," he said. "We know anecdotally from the people who work down there and live down there that they have seen a difference and it's a positive one." A delegation of three people from the INCB visited Vancouver's injection site last October. They were given a tour of the facility and a presentation from representatives from Health Canada and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. The site, located at 139 E. Hastings, is open 18 hours a day, from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. It has been funded by the provincial and federal governments, including a $1.5 million grant from Health Canada to study its effectiveness. Clay Adams, a spokesman with the health authority, said the site -- which is a three-year trial -- does not promote drug use. "We don't believe this is promoting injection drug use," said Adams. "The objective of the site is to get people that do inject to do it in a safe environment to reduce the risk of communicable disease and overdose deaths. The reality is people out there have drugs and they do inject. And if they don't do it in the safe injection site, they do it in dirty alleyways, in unsanitary conditions, using dirty needles." Richard Elliott, director of legal research and policy for the Canadian HIV Legal Network, said international drug treaties contain numerous exceptions and said he believes Vancouver's site does not violate international law. For example, he said, the treaties provide exceptions for the use of controlled drugs if it is for a "medical or scientific purpose". "They serve a medical purpose, protecting the health of drug users," said Elliott, a lawyer. "And there are research efforts as well. We are gathering data about how [the site] works, to see if it actually provide benefits for people." The INCB report also criticizes Canada for proposed federal legislation that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis, making it merely a ticketing offence. "The board is concerned the revisions could contribute to the mistaken perception that cannabis is a harmless substance," the report states. However, the report does praise Canada for expanding the number of drug courts -- which can send offers to drug treatment instead of to jail. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake