Pubdate: Fri, 23 Feb 2007 Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Vancouver Courier Contact: http://www.vancourier.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474 Author: Mike Howell, Staff writer VPD STRADDLING FENCE ON MAYOR'S DRUG PLAN The Vancouver Police Department is staying out of the public debate surrounding Mayor Sam Sullivan's controversial treatment plan to give prescription medication to drug addicts. Deputy chief Doug LePard said the mandate of police is to provide safety for the public and not to express views on what the department considers a medical issue. LePard said he's also aware of the politics connected to such a proposal. "We're not here to serve a political agenda," LePard told the Courier. "We're here to serve the public interest as it relates to public safety. So we're not getting into the political discussion about it or the political rhetoric." Sullivan's plan calls for doctors to prescribe legal drugs to people with long-time addictions, most of whom are street prostitutes and chronic offenders. Health Canada must approve the plan and Sullivan has created a non-profit society called Inner Change to speed up that approval. As reported in the Courier last month, the society includes a clinical advisory committee composed of the province's medical health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, Dr. David Marsh of Vancouver Coastal Health and Dr. John Blatherwick, the city's medical health officer. Former Conservative MP John Reynolds, a close ally of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Dr. Don Rix of MDS Metro Laboratory Services, are co-chairs of the society. Lois Johnson, a Tory organizer, is the society's executive director. The VPD drug policy coordinator, Insp. Scott Thompson, has met with some of the society's members, LePard said. But the police department has yet to see a detailed proposal, he added. If the proposal is approved by Health Canada, LePard said the department would not "stand in the way" of a legal initiative. He noted the department provided a letter of support for the opening of the supervised injection site on East Hastings. "What we've seen is a concept where there's a wide divergence of opinions and we think that debate needs to occur between the medical experts and resolve those issues of concern," he said. How does the VPD's neutral position affect Sullivan's plan? The mayor noted the project is included in his "Project Civil City" plan to reduce homelessness, the open drug market and panhandling. Speaking at the end of Wednesday's police board meeting, Sullivan pointed out the board gave unanimous approval to Project Civil City. But does that mean the police actually approved a drug treatment plan for which they haven't seen the full details? "By endorsing Civil City, it's essentially endorsing working positively with the elements of Civil City, which includes among many things innovative drug treatment approaches," Sullivan said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek