Pubdate: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Authors: Kim Pemberton, Andrew Petrozzi 'HUGE STEP' FOR SAFE INJECTION SITES National guidelines on safe-injection sites for drug addicts will be available at the end of this month to allow communities to submit pilot-project proposals to the federal government, Health Minister Anne McLellan says. Mayor Philip Owen, who has lobbied for the past four years for federal government approval, said he expects many major cities, including Vancouver, will apply for approval. "It's a huge step. We haven't had Health Canada's endorsement until now. I just think we finally got the blessing from the minister of health to move this forward," Owen said Friday. Safe-injection sites are places where drug users can go to inject drugs using clean equipment and where medically trained personnel are available if needed. The idea is to help prevent deaths from overdoses and the transmission of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. Last February, a motion was passed unanimously at the Big City Mayors Meeting in Ottawa that recommended at least three or four cities would be willing to participate in a scientific trial of supervised-consumption sites. Owen said another meeting was held in May to determine which cities would be interested and 12 cities were represented. "Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, Regina, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Halifax were some of the cities that were interested. This shows she (McLellan) has been listening to the cities. I've very pleased she will give us guidelines and we can move forward." Owen said 27 cities around the world already have safe-injection sites and mayors he has spoken with say it was the best thing they ever did and wish they had done it earlier. "It solves a lot of your street problems. We already have an injection site in the lane behind Carnegie Centre. We need to put it in a facility and introduce [drug users] to detox [and] methadone and get them away from the dealers." In comments broadcast Friday, McLellan said a consensus would be necessary in any community that applies for safe-injection sites, but she did not define what consensus the federal government would require. However, MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East) says she's concerned the minister will give "veto power" to groups, such as businesses in the area of proposed injection sites, that will never agree to let them go ahead. "We need people to display courage and leadership and say we're not going to muck around with this any more," she said. "We need her to clearly say unequivocally this is a go ahead. To stand up for a basic health initiative that will save lives in the Downtown Eastside." Davies said if approval is not given in Vancouver, overdoses will continue to be the leading cause of death here for men and women between the ages of 30 and 44. She added safe-injection sites are very simple to operate and studies have shown that where such facilities exist, addicts don't overdose. "People in authority have a duty to make this happen." Owen said he doesn't have a problem with seeking consensus from all stakeholders, and noted there will always be some who are "advanced in their thinking" and others who will need "convincing." "Of course we have to deal with local residents and businesses and we will open a dialogue," he said. COPE mayoralty candidate Larry Campbell, who was active in developing Owen's four-pillars approach to drug addiction (enforcement, treatment, prevention and harm reduction) said safe-injection sites are clearly a health issue and it's a matter of zoning. "When we put a cancer clinic in place we don't get approval from nearby businesses," he said. But Campbell said he is also pleased with McLellan's comments because they confirm his belief that safe-injection sites are indeed legal. Farah Mohamed, a spokeswoman for McLellan, confirmed the federal health ministry has determined a "legal framework does exist" for safe-injection sites to be created "as medical, scientific research projects." It is estimated that approximately 100,000 Canadians are injection drug users. Meanwhile, Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper told The Vancouver Sun's editorial board Friday there are no simple answers to solving the problems associated with Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. While saying he is opposed to a "war on drugs" approach to drug enforcement in Vancouver's poorest neighbourhood, he added: "I'm not sure what the next step is. We don't know what it requires." Harper, who also admitted he is open to the idea of decriminalizing soft drugs such as marijuana, claimed his caucus is divided on the issue of how to treat areas like the Downtown Eastside. "What we need to do is something that will work. And what will work I'm not sure we know the answer to," he said. Harper said any changes to Canadian drug laws should take into account the U.S. position on drugs and what impact such changes could have on relations with this country's largest trading partner. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens