Pubdate: Tue, 02 May 2006 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2006 Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Author: CanWest News Service Cited: Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users http://www.vandu.org Cited: North American Opiate Medication Initiative http://www.naomistudy.ca Cited: 17th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm http://www.harmreduction2006.ca Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?131 (Heroin Maintenance) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Safe Injecting Rooms) FREE DRUGS KEY TO ADDICT'S NEW LIFE VANCOUVER - A 30-year heroin user says she is able to hold down a job and live free from the fear that she will be poisoned by bad street drugs now that she gets free drugs through an experimental program. "I am a 30-year heroin addict," Dianne Tobin, president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, told an international conference in Vancouver. "I knew at 17 [years old], I needed heroin to get through the day." She was obsessed with getting drugs because she had to "score" twice a day. She couldn't hold down a job. Ms. Tobin is one of 100 users who volunteered for the North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI), which gives drugs to 100 heroin addicts in Vancouver. She says her quality of life has improved. "I don't have to go out 'scoring' to get drugs illegally," she said. Ms. Tobin was speaking to delegates from 93 countries -- including China, Iran, Bangladesh and Malaysia -- who are in Vancouver for the International Conference on the Reduction of Drug-Related Harm. The conference is looking at solutions to drug-related problems, among them innovations in use in Vancouver, including prescription heroin, needle-exchange clinics and safe-injection sites. The Canadian Institute of Health Research says there are 60,000 to 90,000 Canadians addicted to heroin and says illegal drug use costs the Canadian economy more than $8-billion a year. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake