Pubdate: Wed, 28 May 2008 Source: Gravenhurst Banner (CN ON) Copyright: 2008 Gravenhurst Banner Contact: http://www.gravenhurstbanner.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4780 Author: Laura MacLean Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Insite (Insite) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Tony+Clement MP NOT SUPPORTING EXEMPTION FOR INJECTION CLINIC Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement says there is not a lot of sympathy in his riding for Vancouver's Insite facility to receive an extended exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The only one of its kind in North America, Insite is a facility where public health workers provide drug addicts with clean needles as well as support in case of an overdose. The injection site was established by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) in partnership with the Portland Hotel Community Services Society in the fall of 2003 as a pilot project in attempt to address the increasingly risky and open drug scene in Vancouver's downtown east side. The goal of the project was to collect information on whether such a facility, with nurses and counsellors on hand, could be an effective way to bring people off the streets and into a place where they can access clean supplies and general support. To operate legally, Health Canada granted VCH a three-year operating exemption under Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and has since provided $500,000 every year to support it. The exemption previously has been temporarily extended twice. Last week, members of the Insite for Community Safety campaign made a stop in Huntsville to engage in what they were calling a "peaceful picket" at Clement's constituency office. They also visited Bracebridge and Parry Sound in an attempt to raise awareness and support on the importance of Insite receiving the exemption. "It's their right to do," said Clement. "I would never abridge their right to protest. There's not a lot of sympathy in my riding on their position for the exemption. I think most people want to concentrate on helping people get off drugs, not keeping people on them. "First of all, our government is concentrating on enforcing our laws to get rid of the dealers, and secondly on treatment and prevention - making sure kids don't get on drugs in the first place. These people need our help. If it was my son or daughter in that facility, I would want to think the government was trying to help me get my son or daughter off drugs. We have not made a decision on the exemption," continued Clement. "We are actively reviewing it and we'll be making a decision in the future." While scientific data collected indicates that Insite is meeting certain objectives including reducing public injections, reducing overdose fatalities, reducing the transmission of blood-borne infections like HIV and Hepatitis C, and reducing injection-related infections as well as improving public order, the federal government has remained quiet as to whether the exemption will be granted or not. Leah Martin, a program worker with the Portland Hotel Community Services Society, was at Clement's office with her partner Joey Only, and Mark Townsend, who works for the community group that runs Insite in co-operation with VCH. They embarked on a cross-Canada tour in a U-Haul truck filled with information on the benefits of the Insite facility as well as 868 crosses that represent overdose incidents at the site as well as potential deaths. "Our six-month term is closing at the end of June, so it's getting to the last days for the federal government to let is know," said Martin. "They're definitely holding out on us. Within our travels we've been visiting members of Parliament who are in opposition and who continue to let their own ideologies and morals (affect their) decision. We're not saying, 'choose this over treatment or enforcement.' We're saying, 'we need this (injection site) just as much'." Calling Insite a harm-reduction approach, Martin stated there is a significant amount of scientific, factual evidence the injection site is reaching its goals. She said there have also been 25 peer-reviewed studies by different researchers in British Columbia whose field of profession is to investigate different approaches to health care, and all the studies have been positive. "Tony Clement is calling for an evaluation of our research," she said. "Tony and members of the federal government have compiled an expert advisory committee and have spent up to $2 million to evaluate the site and its research and results from those committees have been positive." Clement did not comment on whether the results were, in fact, positive but stated, "Our government's position is that the results are mixed. Only five per cent of drug users on the downtown east side use the site. At best, those that use the site only use it for 10 per cent of their injections, so there's a whole lot of other conclusions in the expert advisory panel's reports, which are, at best, mixed." Martin further explained that criminologist Neil Boyd for Simon Fraser University was commissioned by the federal government to conduct a cost-benefit analysis on the Insite facility. The study revealed that for every $1 spent on Insite, taxpayers save $4 and that crime rates were unaffected by the implementation of the facility. As well, Boyd noted there were some improvements in public order with respect to decreased injection debris and decreased injections around the site. He also found that the facility lowered the risk of contracting diseases like HIV, which can be spread through needle-sharing; that drug-users who visit Insite are more likely to enter treatment programs; and that deaths due to drug overdoses have been averted because staff is on hand to intervene. In a letter written by B.C. Minister of Health George Abbott to Clement on May 6, Abbott expressed his support for the exemption to allow the operation of Insite as part of a supervised injection site scientific research pilot project in Vancouver. "Drug use affects us all in communities across Canada and it is a very complex, social issue that needs many approaches," said Martin. "It's a huge issue for Vancouver's inner city core." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake