Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jan 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Andrea Woo
Page: S3
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Supervised Injection Sites)

VANCOUVER FACILITY BECOMES CANADA'S SECOND APPROVED SUPERVISED-INJECTION SITE

A renowned HIV/AIDS clinic in Vancouver has received permission to 
operate Canada's second approved supervised injection site - the 
first such approval granted under the Liberals, signalling a 
departure from the previous Conservative government's staunch 
opposition to such facilities.

The Dr. Peter Centre, located in downtown Vancouver's West End 
neighbourhood, has offered the controversial service since 2002 - one 
year before the opening of Insite, the dedicated supervised injection 
site in the city's Downtown Eastside.

"For the Dr. Peter Centre today, it's health care as usual," Maxine 
Davis, executive director of the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, said 
Friday. "For Canadian health care, it is a significant step forward."

The centre is now the first in North America approved to integrate 
supervised injection service into an existing health care facility 
where not everyone injects or uses drugs.

The Conservatives spent years attempting to shut down Insite, 
eventually losing at the Supreme Court of Canada, which ordered the 
government to allow the site to remain open. The Conservatives 
responded to that court ruling by introducing legislation to govern 
when a facility would receive an exemption from federal drug laws, 
but proponents argued that the new rules were too restrictive and 
would make proposed facilities in cities such as Montreal and 
Victoria difficult, if not impossible, to open.

The centre submitted a formal application to Health Canada seeking a 
Section 56 exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 
January, 2014; the approval, announced Friday and valid for two 
years, ensures that nurses and clients will not be charged for 
activities related to injection services.

Health Canada said in a statement it arrived at the decision "after a 
rigorous, evidence-based review that included an assessment of the 
centre's application, an inspection of the facility, and the 
establishment of terms and conditions to protect public health and safety."

Supervised injection has been a lightning rod for controversy, with 
critics saying it facilitates the use of dangerous drugs and is an 
affront to federal laws. Supporters say it prevents overdose deaths 
and reduces associated harms by, for example, offering users clean 
supplies and a sterile environment, preventing the transmission of 
HIV and other blood-borne viruses.

In 14 years, nurses at the Dr. Peter Centre have supervised more than 
15,000 injections.Insite, meanwhile, averages more than 500 
injection-room visits a day. There have been no fatal overdoses at 
either facility.

Chris Buchner, regional director of prevention at Vancouver Coastal 
Health, said the health authority saw 1,486 emergency room visits for 
overdoses last year, up from 492 in 2010.

"Access to supervised injection services is especially critical now, 
because of these consistently increasing rates of overdose and 
because of the availability of very dangerous [opioids] such as 
fentanyl in the illicit drug market," he said.

Perry Kendall, B.C.'s provincial health officer, said the approval 
represents "a triumph of science, common sense and compassion over ideology.

"I hope that this is going to be the start of a policy which will 
consistently support the expansion of supervised injection services 
where they are most needed," he said.

Further, Dr. Kendall called for the repeal of Bill C-2, the so-called 
Respect for Communities Act, which he said "makes it virtually 
impossible ... to open up, or even think about opening up, such 
services in Canada."

Under the act, facilities that wish to operate such a site must meet 
a lengthy list of requirements, including: a letter from the head of 
the local police force; statistics and other information on crime, 
public nuisance and inappropriately discarded drug paraphernalia in 
the vicinity of the site; and a report on consultations with "a broad 
range of community groups."

The centre consulted with the College of Registered Nurses of B.C. 
and the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of B.C., both of 
which supported the service for the purposes of preventing illness 
and promoting health.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom