Pubdate: Wed, 5 Mar 2008 Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Copyright: 2008 The Ottawa Citizen Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326 Author: Steven Edwards, The Ottawa Citizen Referenced: INCB annual report http://drugsense.org/url/cgfepnHW Cited: InSite for Community Safety http://www.communityinsite.ca Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Insite (Insite) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Supervised Injection Sites) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/crack+kits SHUT DRUG INJECTION SITES, CANADA TOLD UN Body Says Sites 'Enable' Illicit Use; Flout Treaties UNITED NATIONS - The head of the United Nations drug control board put the federal government on notice yesterday to rein in provincial and other health authorities deemed to be flouting international treaties aimed at combating illicit drug use. Speaking just ahead of today's release of the board's annual report, Philip Emafo signalled the federal government could do more to make sure all parts of Canada respect the agreements. In the new report, the International Narcotics Control Board calls on Canada to ban various community-backed programs that enable illicit drug use. However, health groups running them say the programs aim to help drug abusers kick the habit, or at least not to become any sicker. They've pushed to keep them operational despite successive the board's calls for them to close. "It cannot go on forever," Mr. Emafo said from Vienna, where he serves as board president. "We want the government of Canada to be in compliance with their treaty obligations, but there is an internal problem, and we would urge the government of Canada to sort (it) out." The new report says Canada should end regional handouts of drug paraphernalia and close "injection sites" where drug users are allowed to consume illicit drugs under supervision. Specifically mentioned is the "safer crack kit" that the Vancouver Island Health Authority was giving away, while Ottawa and Toronto are listed as cities where similar distribution programs are under way. Each crack kit typically includes a rubber mouthpiece so that the drug abuser does not burn his or her mouth and risk infection, plus "push sticks" to prepare drugs for consumption. However, the report says the kits' distribution contravenes an article in the 1988 UN anti-drug trafficking convention that Canada signed. The article says governments should not allow trade in drug equipment. In calling for a ban on drug injection sites, the report is repeating a call made last year that mainly focused on the Vancouver facility Insite, which bills itself as a "clean, safe environment where users can inject their own drugs off the streets." The board has said the Insite facility contravenes a 1961 treaty signed by Canada. It says countries should pass laws ensuring drugs are used only for medical or scientific purposes. The Conservative government has toughened illicit drug laws through its National Anti-Drug Strategy, but late last year it extended, until June 30, a special exemption from federal drug enforcement laws for the Insite facility. Spokespeople for Health Minister Tony Clement did not respond to requests yesterday to react to the report and Mr. Emafo's comments. In a bid to free itself from even the need for a federal government exemption, Insite has appealed to the British Columbia Supreme Court to rule it is a health facility that is constitutionally under provincial jurisdiction. In a campaign against the findings, it has also argued that the board itself called for a legal opinion from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime that found "harm-reduction" programs did not violate the UN treaties. "It's clear from the legal brief that Insite is in compliance, and all it's doing is providing an intake bridge to recovery for users," said Nathan Allen, co-ordinator for the Insite For Community Safety campaign. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake