Pubdate: Thu, 26 Dec 2002
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.fyitoronto.com/torsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Himani Ediriweera, Toronto Sun

SAFE PLACE FOR ADDICTS IN WORKS

But Councillor Skeptical Of Plan

Shooting  up in the new year may become easier unless a novel idea is shot 
down by council.

Health  Canada  announced  in November that it is reviewing guidelines 
under which cities could make proposals to open safe-injection centres for 
drug addicts.

Councillor  Joe Mihevc, chairman of the Toronto health board, said the 
safe-injection  houses  must be regarded as a harm-reduction plan, and not 
as the government "encouraging drug-use."

"In  the  end, it will be saving lives," Mihevc said. "A person cannot be 
rehabilitated if they have AIDS."

He said the main issues surrounding drug abuse are diseases contracted 
from  needle-sharing.  A safe-injection site would provide intravenous drug 
users with trained medical professionals to monitor the injection of the drugs.

But   Councillor   Doug  Holyday  strongly  opposes  government-funded 
injection sites because they encourage substance abuse.

"Saying  it  will help the problem is a far stretch," Holyday said. "I want 
to see statistics that show it is beneficial to a lot of people."

At  the  moment,  the  federal government is still deciding whether to 
allow safe-injection houses.

The  next  step  would  be  for  the  municipal  government  to find a 
community to accept the injection site.

"We  will probably pilot test this project in a hospital and see if it 
works  there. We are trying to take it out of the community and put it into 
health care," Mihevc said.
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MAP posted-by: Tom