Pubdate: Sun, 02 Oct 2011
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2011 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Kent Spencer, The Province; With Files From Postmedia 

SUPPORTERS APPLAUD INSITE VICTORY

Cheering Crowds Celebrate Top Court'S Landmark Legal Decision

Intravenous drug users in Vancouver will live healthier lives now that
the nation's top court has given its legal affirmation to a safe
injection site called Insite, say supporters.

"The decision makes me feel good because I care about people in
general," said sometime-user Chris Carew, 52, standing on a street
with a shopping cart full of odds and ends on Friday.

"There's stuff out there -- people don't know whether it's good or not.
If something goes wrong at Insite, there are nurses and ambulances
ready to respond. Insite is about the dignity of every person," he
said.

Supporters say a landmark legal triumph was won when the Supreme Court
in Ottawa ruled unanimously, in essence, that site users had a charter
right to security of their person.

Outside the nation's first safe injection site in Vancouver, the
decision brought cheers from Downtown Eastsiders, health officials,
politicians and workers.

They celebrated by wolfing down free pancakes and painting "We won!"
on a sign in big red letters.

"I'm ecstatic. This is a historic occasion," said Vision Vancouver
Coun. Ellen Woodsworth.

"It will have ripple effects around the world," she
said.

NDP MLA Jenny Kwan (Vancouver-Mt. Pleasant) said "people have died
fighting for this facility."

"The message is that ideology must not trump science. Doing the right
thing is more important than being 'tough on crime,'" she said.

Not everyone was so pleased, however.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservative government brought
the legal challenge against Insite, told reporters in Quebec City he
is "disappointed."

"The preference of this government is to prosecute those who sell
drugs and create drug addiction in our youth," he said. Overdoses
'frightening'

Insite's business front is located in a gritty part of town at East
Hastings and Main.

The appearance inside is clean and fresh, with comfy couches like ones
found in new office buildings.

Injections take place in 12 spotless booths which are kept in constant
use by 12,000 addicts.

Insite worker Kailin See, 30, said the atmosphere in the IR --
injection room -- is "reverential."

"For a lot of people, it is the only place they feel safe and free,"
she said. The sounds of Johnny Cash, The

Clash and Bach could be heard on Friday as Insite geared up to open
for its first clients.

"They are not by themselves in an alley where it's dirty and they get
diseases," Carew said.

Overdoses average a bit more than one every day; there have been 4,000
successful OD interventions since the site opened in 2003.

See said there is no great commotion during an overdose, users simply
collapse. "It is quite frightening," she said. Carew said the drug of
choice is usually heroin, which is bought from street vendors. It
comes in folded envelopes and costs $10.

He said the effect is for users to zonk out for a few hours after they
have left the premises.

Carew says many users live in homeless shelters, eat poorly and "just
exist from one fix to the next."

"Most would rather spend money on drugs than rent," he
said.

Insite is believed to be used by 12 per cent of the population on the
Downtown Eastside.

Studies show many addicts' lives have improved by contact with health
authorities, leading to detoxification programs and fewer deaths.

Implications across country

Woodsworth believes the ruling has changed the way addicts will be
treated in places like Victoria, Saskatoon, Toronto and St. John's.

"Addicts will get other services like referrals, housing and income
assistance," she said.

Dr. Patricia Daly, Vancouver Coastal Health's top professional, said
she believes more treatment will open up for addicts in Vancouver, but
it will be in smaller facilities.

"With the court ruling, you can provide health care at another site
and incorporate supervised injection," she said.

Legal or illegal?

The Conservatives' opposition was based on a belief that nothing good
will come out of facilitating a habit which is destroying peoples'
lives.

Their legal objections centered around a program which they said
effectively sanctions illegal drug use in a government-permitted setting.

In written submissions to the court, they said it sent a confusing
message to people who may be thinking of using drugs, and blurred the
line between lawful and unlawful activity.

There were also arguments that supervised injection sites attract
those in the drug trade who prey on susceptible individuals.

Harper said he prefers spending money on prevention and treatment
programs instead of Insite's harm reduction strategy.

Daly, however, said the ruling was a victory for a common sense
medical approach.

"The evidence is overwhelming that Insite saves lives," she
said.

"I'm very happy. As a physician, you want to be able to provide a
much-needed service. Hopefully, the legal fight is over," she said.
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