Pubdate: Mon, 14 Aug 2006
Source: Gulf Times (Qatar)
Copyright: Gulf Times Newspaper, 2006
Contact:  http://www.gulf-times.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3835
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

INJECTION SITE FOR DRUG ADDICTS FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE

VANCOUVER, British Columbia: Supporters of North America's only 
sanctioned injection site for drug addicts say the facility is saving 
lives and curbing disease but they fear that will not be enough to 
keep Canada's government from closing it.

Vancouver's Insite facility gained international publicity when it 
opened in 2003 as a research experiment and health officials are 
anxiously waiting to hear if the Canadian government will extend its 
exemption from drug laws and allow it to remain open after September 12.

Insite's supporters say studies show the facility has prevented 
overdose deaths and helped get addicts into treatment. They say it 
also has slowed the sharing of needles, which is how Aids and other 
diseases are often spread.

But the supporters worry the facility's future may depend on 
political ideology. Insite was opened under a previous Liberal 
government in Ottawa and new Conservative Prime Minister Stephen 
Harper has objected to any government sanction of illegal drug use.

"We're trying to make sure he (Harper) doesn't drive the car over the 
edge of the cliff before he checks the science," said Mark Townsend 
of the Portland Hotel Society, a non-profit group that helps run Insite.

According to the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which also 
oversees Insite, the facility in the drug-infested Downtown Eastside 
neighbourhood receives an average of 607 visits a day and has been 
used by more than 7,200 people.

Addicts using drugs such as heroin and cocaine are given clean 
needles to inject themselves in a room supervised by a nurse. After 
shooting up, they go to a "chill-out room" before returning to the streets.

The facility's supporters say the goal is saving addicts' lives by 
giving them access to medical help in overdose cases and resources to 
help them kick their addictions.

There have been more than 500 overdoses at the site but none has been 
fatal, which would have been the likely outcome if the addict had 
been alone on the street, health officials say.

To open the facility, local officials got a three-year exemption from 
federal drug possession laws as they studied Insite's impact on 
overdose deaths and other drug-related problems in the surrounding 
community. The exemption must be renewed for Insite to remain open.

Federal health officials are reviewing the results of the Insite 
studies, said Erik Waddell, a spokesman for federal Health Minister 
Tony Clement, who opposed injection sites while a provincial official 
in Ontario.

Harper said in May he would not decide the site's future until 
getting a report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which 
strongly opposed Insitea€TMs opening in 2003.

A report prepared for the RCMP this year said the site's impact on 
the community was difficult to assess but it appeared to have met its 
objectives in reducing overdose deaths.

Vancouver police have asked the federal government to keep the facility open.

The federal government has provided about C$500,000 per year to fund 
the research while the province paid C$1.2mn to build the site and 
provided operational funds through the regional health authority.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman