Pubdate: Fri, 30 May 2014
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2014 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: James Keller
Page: A6

INJUNCTION GRANTED FOR ADDICTS TO USE HEROIN

Understand that heroin treatment is a treatment

VANCOUVER * A group of addicts in Vancouver who were part of a
clinical trial examining the use of prescription heroin have won a
temporary injunction that will allow them to continue accessing the
drug at least until a court challenge is heard.

The ruling, issued Thursday by a B.C. Supreme Court judge, is the
second time in recent months that courts have interfered with Ottawa's
attempt to rein in the medical use of otherwise illegal drugs.

Five people filed a lawsuit last fall alleging the federal government
had violated their Charter rights by denying access to prescription
heroin to treat their addictions.

Those patients received the heroin during a clinical trial, but once
they left the trial last year, their doctors asked for approval under
a special Health Canada program to continue prescribing the drug.

Health Canada initially granted the approvals, but Health Minister
Rona Ambrose quickly introduced new regulations to stop such
approvals. The patients who were approved have not received any more
prescription heroin and subsequent applications have been rejected.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge issued an injunction exempting the patients
from the updated regulations until the case goes to trial, likely next
year.

Joseph Arvay, a lawyer who is representing the patients, said the
federal government's decision was not based on scientific research
that has shown prescription heroin is an effective treatment for
patients suffering from severe addiction.

"What was fundamentally wrong with the minister's decision is failing
to understand that heroin treatment is a treatment, and it's not just
providing the addicts with a drug of their choice," Mr. Arvay told a
news conference Thursday.

"It [prescription heroin treatment] gives them an entry into the
health-care system that they don't otherwise have. They're dealt with
by social workers and psychologists, and people help them to deal with
all the ramifications of their addictions."

The plaintiffs all took part in clinical trials conducted by
Providence Health Care, which operates St. Paul's Hospital in downtown
Vancouver and is also involved in the lawsuit.

The first trial, the North American Opiate Medication Initiative, or
NAOMI, took place in Vancouver and Montreal between 2005 and 2008. It
compared the effectiveness of pharmaceutical-grade heroin, known as
diacetylmorphine, and oral methadone. Two of the plaintiffs were NAOMI
participants.

Mr. Arvay said the injunction means all patients who have participated
in the clinical trials can now apply to Health Canada for special
access if their doctors believe prescription heroin will benefit them.

Health Canada said it plans to study the injunction before deciding
how to respond.
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MAP posted-by: Matt