Pubdate: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Vancouver Courier Contact: http://www.vancourier.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474 Author: Mike Howell Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/insite Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Supervised Injection Sites) COURT TO DECIDE FUTURE OF INJECTION SITE Federal Government Takes Insite Case To B.C. Court Of Appeal The federal government goes to court Monday in its fight to overturn a B.C. Supreme Court decision that allowed the city's supervised drug injection site to operate indefinitely. The appeal is in response to B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield's ruling in May 2008 that granted staff and users of Insite on East Hastings a constitutional exemption from the country's drug laws. The facility, which opened in September 2003 under the approval of the former Liberal government, was scheduled to close June 30, 2008. Pitfield ruled that a section of Canada's drug laws was unconstitutional when applied to addicts using the injection site. He said the facility could remain open indefinitely. In the meantime, the federal government was to rewrite its laws to allow for medical use of illegal drugs at Insite. The deadline is June 30, but the government is expected to ask for an extension in court next week. "While there is nothing to be said in favour of the injection of controlled substances that leads to addiction, there is much to be said against denying addicts health care services that will ameliorate the effects of their condition," Pitfield wrote. "Society does that for other substances such as alcohol and tobacco." The federal government has argued the country's drug laws, or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, are not subject to a "reading down." The government also emphasized that Insite only operates lawfully because of ministerial exemptions granted under section 56 of the country's drug laws. Conservative government politicians, particularly Tony Clement, who was the federal health minister at the time of Pitfield's decision, were surprised, if not incensed by the ruling. In an August 2008 speech to the Canadian Medical Association, Clement said Insite offered "no hope" for drug users and called it a failure of public policy. "Insite may slow the death spiral of a deadly drug habit, but it does not reverse it," he said. "I do not regard this as a positive health outcome." The PHS Community Services Society and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users initiated the case against the government. The PHS operates Insite under a contractual agreement with Vancouver Coastal Health. The drug users' group represents the estimated 12,000 intravenous drug users in Vancouver. Several peer-reviewed studies published in international medical journals concluded Insite is reducing the spread of infectious disease and leading some addicts to counselling, treatment and housing. No one has died of a drug overdose at the facility, which has recorded more than 1.2 million injections. Since the fall of 2007, staff has referred users to Onsite, a detox centre occupying two floors above Insite. It has a total of 30 beds and includes health care and counselling. It costs $1 million annually to operate. Insite, which costs $2.8 million a year to operate, opened in September 2003 as a three-year scientific experiment. The Conservative government extended the operating licence twice before Pitfield ruled last year to keep it open. Insite is the only legal injection site in North America. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom