Pubdate: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 The Province Contact: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: John Bermingham Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) NAOMI GRADS RETURN TO STREET DRUGS Controversial Program Can't Keep Junkies Clean, Participant Says Most addicts who completed a controversial drug program that offers free prescription heroin are now homeless, engaged in crime, and using illicit drugs. Gary Occhipinti, the first person to complete the NAOMI drug trial, said he knows the other participants and most are back to their old habits. "Most of the NAOMI participants are back shooting heroin," said Occhipinti, at a meeting of the Four Pillars Coalition yesterday. "It's the insanity of addiction." He said the NAOMI participants, who must live in the Downtown Eastside to qualify, remain in the area and return to poverty, crime and addiction. "You need treatment on demand," Occhipinti said. If addicts got prescription heroin on an ongoing basis, they wouldn't slip back into their old ways, he added. The North American Opiate Medication Initiative has so far recruited 180 of 256 participants in Vancouver and Montreal for the 15-month trial. The participants get to use either heroin or methadone two or three times a day, seven days a week. Dr. David Marsh, who runs the NAOMI project, said a European trial found that 85 per cent of drug-users return to the street-drug scene after the prescription heroin runs out. Marsh said more than 70 per cent of the NAOMI participants have overdosed in the past, and spend $2,430 a month on drugs. Mayor Sam Sullivan said he's going on a fact-finding trip to Europe next year to look at how other cities deal with drugs and crime. Sullivan launched a survey on public disorder a few days ago. So far, 1,200 people in Vancouver have filled out questionnaires on how crime has affected them. Sullivan has also started a series of meetings with community leaders to discuss crime issues. A draft plan to improve the lives of the city's sex-trade workers has been released. The plan includes "safe zones" in neighbourhoods, drug treatment and job training. The Living In Community project will include a series of 10 meetings around the city in October and November. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman