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Pubdate: Fri, 25 May 2007 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Peter O'Neil Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange) INSITE RAISES USE OF DETOX, REPORT SAYS Results Prompt Scientists To Denounce Ottawa's Refusal To Fund Injection Centre The federal Conservative government's refusal to support North America's only legal supervised injection site for drug addicts is driven by ideology and politics and not research, two health scientists said Thursday after the release of a new report on the facility in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The report, published in a London-based medical journal, says Insite has resulted in a 30-per-cent increase in the use of detoxification programs such as methadone replacement therapy, addiction counselling, or participation in Narcotics Anonymous. That higher use of detox since Insite opened in 2003 suggests, based on previous research, that the facility "has probably helped to reduce rates of injection drug use among users of the facility," concluded the five scientists at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in their report, published in the June issue of the peer-reviewed medical journal Addiction. Health Minister Tony Clement questioned whether research supported Insite last September when he refused to grant a 31/ -year extension in the facility's federal permit. Clement, noting that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government is about to introduce a tough national drug strategy that puts more focus on enforcement and less on so-called "harm reduction" measures like injection sites and needle exchanges, suspended Ottawa's decision on Insite's future until the end of this year. "The government seems intent on ignoring scientific evidence to pursue an ideological agenda at the expense of lives in the Downtown Eastside," co-author Dr. Julio Montaner said in a statement. He said the new conclusions answer Clement's questions about whether Insite is contributing to lower drug use and fighting addiction. Dr. Steffanie Strathdee, a former B.C.-based researcher now at the University of California's School of Medicine in San Diego, also accused the government of putting politics before health. "It is time for politicians who oppose [supervised injection sites] on the grounds that more research is needed to be honest with their constituents," Strathdee wrote in a commentary attached to the report. "It is lack of political will, not lack of data, that is keeping these life-saving public health services out of the hands of our drug-dependent citizens." The new report in Addictions, summarizing results of a study funded by the federal government, said the average number of users entering detox programs increased to 31.3 from 21.6 in the year after Insite opened. While that increase represents an increase of roughly 50 per cent, the researchers adjusted the results to take into consideration other factors in coming up with the 30-per-cent figure. "There have been many benefits of Insite in terms of public order and reduced HIV risk," said co-author Dr. Evan Wood. "However, the fact that it appears to be pulling people out of the cycle of addiction by leading them into programs that reduce drug use is remarkable." Erik Waddell, a spokesman for Clement, said Thursday that the government has followed through on its commitment to expand research on safe injection sites. Health Canada is commissioning a study costing up to $250,000 to analyse health, public order, and operational issues as well as "local contextual issues" relating to injection sites. The winning bidder will also determine "similarities and differences between Vancouver and other Canadian cities," according to the proposed contract. Several cities, including Victoria, have expressed interest in getting a federal exemption allowing them to set up a supervised injection site. A group of Canadian scientists not connected to the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS released a letter Thursday challenging the credibility of the federal research initiative. The authors, from universities in Victoria, Ottawa, Toronto and Sherbrooke, Que., said the Oct. 31, 2007 deadline for the final report is too soon to conduct meaningful new research. They also said a "disclosure moratorium" stipulated in the request for proposals is "difficult if not impossible" to accept because scientific knowledge must be "openly accessible" for scrutiny and debate. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman