Pubdate: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Author: CanWest News Service Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) POLICE OPPOSE CRACK SAFE SITE VANCOUVER -- Police say they're opposed to a plan to expand the city's safe-injection site to include a room where crack cocaine addicts can light up. Mayor Larry Campbell said Sunday the site now predominantly used by heroine, morphine, hydromorphone and cocaine intravenous drug users should be expanded so that crack addicts can toke up in a safe setting - -- a scenario the police union said would create crack dens and not help addicts kick the habit. "I don't know why they would be upset about that and fully supportive of supervised injection sites," Campbell said of police reaction. "We are taking the people off the street that they have to deal with as a nuisance and we are trying to get them help so it's no different." But police union president Tom Stamatakis said despite a first-year evaluation of the safe-injection site showing 600 injections each day occur at the downtown locale and 107 overdoses were prevented there, his members see little evidence on the street that the number of people shooting up and smoking up in alleys is going down. "It's beyond ridiculous to now contemplate setting up a den for crack cocaine smokers when you consider that it is one of the most addictive and devastating drugs available, whose profiteers are organized criminals," said Stamatakis. "If this proposal goes ahead, it will simply enable addicts to continue using harmful drugs and not escape from the vicious cycle of drug abuse and crime." Stamatakis added the city would have to make a special request to Health Canada to use the site's smoking room, which recently had a new ventilation system installed in preparation for use by crack addicts. "The harm reduction model was supposed to result in fewer substance abuse deaths, a reduction in costs to the economy, better prevention initiatives and the promotion of rehabilitation options but these things have just not happened," Stamatakis said. "Why would he think that setting up safe cocaine smoking dens would work any better?" - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake