Pubdate: Thu, 24 Apr 2003
Source: Swissinfo / SRI (Switzerland Web)
Copyright: 2003 Swissinfo SRI Swiss Radio International
Contact: Giacomettistrasse 1 CH-3000, Bern 15, Switzerland
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2897
Website: http://www.swissinfo.org/
Authors: Karin Kamp and Faryal Mirza, swissinfo
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Safe Injecting Rooms)

VANCOUVER ADDICTS GET A FIX - SWISS-STYLE

Vancouver is set to open the first "injecting room" in North America,
adopting Switzerland's approach to intravenous drug users. Officials
in Canada hope the facilities - which provide drug users with a safe
place to inject - will help reduce the city's high rate of drug
addiction, overdoses and HIV infection.

"The purpose of this - as it was in Zurich - is to tackle the open
drug market to encourage intravenous drug users to inject in a safe
setting," says Geoff Meggs of Vancouver's mayor's office.

He said the mayor, Larry Campbell, was inspired by Switzerland's
success in coping with the problems of intravenous drug use.

Along with a safe place to inject, the Canadian injecting rooms will
provide users with access to clean needles, methadone and drug
treatment facilities.

Vancouver is home to one of the biggest intravenous drug scenes in
North America with some 12,000 addicts, 40 per cent of which have HIV
or Aids.

"Certain parts of downtown Vancouver are plagued by a very high number
of intravenous drug users with very high rates of overdose drug
deaths, HIV and Hepatitis C," says Meggs.

Injecting rooms are also good for the public at large.

Ruth Vogt, Zurich drugs policy expert

Drug-related deaths In the past decade 2,000 addicts have died of drug
overdoses.

The use of injecting rooms has helped in Switzerland, which has seen
drug-related deaths drop by 50 per cent since the programme was
introduced in the early 1990s.

Switzerland also saw HIV infection rates fall between 1992 and 2000,
although the rate of new infection is now increasing again.

"Injecting rooms are also good for the public at large, because drug
users are brought inside instead of injecting in the parks and on the
streets," says Ruth Vogt, who is head of drugs policy at Zurich's
social work department.

For its part, Washington has expressed outrage over the initiative, as
it did when Canada legalised marijuana for medicinal purposes.

John Walters, who heads the US anti-drugs office, says the injecting
rooms are equivalent to "state-sponsored suicide". Drug policy Most
countries are accustomed to strict policies on drug use, such as those
implemented by Canada in the past, Gregg says.

"There is concern that this programme will actually condone the use of
IV drugs," he says.

For many years, Canadian officials tried to control the problem by
clearing dealers from the streets. But despite more arrests, the
problem hasn't improved.

Now Vancouver's mayor wants the government to focus more of its energy
on the health problems associated with drug addiction.

Earlier this year, Campbell visited injecting rooms in Zurich, and was
impressed by the facilities.

He is awaiting approval by the government for the project, which is
expected to commence this summer.

Key Facts

Swiss injecting rooms provide free needles, cheap meals, showers and
washing facilities.

Since they were set up in the early 1990s, drug-related deaths in
Switzerland have dropped by 50 per cent.

About 18,000 people took part in Switzerland's methadone programme in
2001. 
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