Pubdate: Tue, 30 Mar 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
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Safe Injecting Rooms)

SAFE SITES FACE REALITY OF DRUG USE

Providing Addicts With Injection Facilities Will Help Reduce The Risks Of 
IV Drug Use

Mayor Alan Lowe and B.C.'s chief health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, say 
Victoria needs a safe injection site like the one that's been operating in 
Vancouver for more than six months.

Lowe says it's necessary to cut down on the number of addicts shooting up 
in alleys, on lawns and around businesses and schools. Kendall says it's 
necessary to reduce the number of overdoses and diseases being spread by 
users who share needles.

There is an IV drug user population of about 4,700 in Vancouver's Downtown 
Eastside. We have nowhere near that number but, as Kendall points out, 
Victoria's needle exchange centre has more than 2,000 clients -- many of 
whom are shooting up in front of us, or in some dark alley where they may 
not be found until it's too late.

But does Victoria want the notoriety of becoming only the second city in 
North America to set up a safe injection site? The International Narcotics 
Control Board, a United Nations Agency, declared earlier this month that 
Vancouver's Insite violates the principle that illicit drugs should be used 
only for "medical or scientific purposes."

U.S. authorities view it -- and the federal government's proposal to remove 
criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana -- as a 
shameful retreat in the war against drugs. Opponents of safe injection 
sites argue that they condone the use of illicit drugs, pander to drug 
pushers, divert precious health dollars from other uses and degrade 
neighbourhoods.

It's true that safe injection sites can accommodate only a fraction of 
those who could benefit from them. Vancouver's Insite can handle only about 
600 visits in an 18-hour day and, since addicts may visit Insite two or 
three times a day, is clearly not being used by more than about 10 per cent 
of the Downtown Eastside's IV drug users. Its success in attracting drug 
users has resulted in proposals for additional sites in that city.

But Insite is not just a clean place to shoot up. By December, after only 
11 weeks of operation, nurses at the facility had treated 36 overdoses and 
were getting two or three detoxification requests from drug users every 
day. The pilot project, with financial support from the federal and 
provincial governments, is also collecting data on the number of users with 
HIV or AIDS, the number of long-term IV users compared to casual users, and 
the success rate of those who enrol in detoxification programs.

The Vancouver experience shows how Victoria, and its addicts, could benefit 
from a safe injection site -- by taking IV drug use off the streets, by 
reducing the risk of fatal overdoses and the spread of disease, if only to 
a small degree.

But as an element of harm reduction for addicts, it will do nothing for the 
overall drug problem this city faces if it is not accompanied by 
enforcement against drug trafficking, prevention programs (primarily 
education) and effective treatment -- the "four pillars" approach being 
taken in Vancouver.

If city councillors agree with Lowe that Victoria needs a safe injection 
site, they will have to persuade Health Canada to grant an exemption under 
federal legislation similar to Vancouver's for the use of illicit drugs for 
a scientific research pilot project. They will have to try to get funds for 
the site from the federal and provincial governments and -- since 
Victoria's drug users are not all from the city -- from the Vancouver 
Island Health Authority.

Deciding where to put a safe injection site will require broad public 
consultation and co-operation. It must be close enough to where addicts 
hang out -- in Vancouver it has been found that IV drug users won't use 
Insite if it means a walk of more than 15 minutes -- without becoming a 
magnet for users from other regions.

It may be a long time coming, but if Lowe is convinced a safe injection 
site is what Victoria needs, he should begin the debate in city council now.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom