Canada - Safe Site For Injecting Opens

[Panthers007]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Operators of the only legal safe-injection site in North America, where people can inject illegal drugs with clean needles under a nurse's supervision, were in court Monday seeking a permanent exemption from Canada's drug laws.

The Insite pilot project in Vancouver's seedy Downtown Eastside neighborhood has operated for nearly five years under a temporary exemption that has been extended twice but which expires June 30.

Attorneys argued before British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield that the site should be allowed to continue without being subject to the approval of federal health ministers.

The Portland Hotel Society, which operates Insite in conjunction with Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, says the facility is for public health and falls under provincial jurisdiction. The program should not be subject to the "whim" of the federal minister of health, argued John Conroy, lawyer for the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

Under Canada's Constitution, criminal matters such as drug possession, trafficking and use fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government while health care is the responsibility of the provincial governments.

Federal Health Minister Tony Clement said no decision has been made on whether Insite will be allowed to remain open indefinitely.

"That's a decision that has to be made by the 30th of June. We're not making that decision today," Clement said.

Federal government lawyer John Hunter disagreed with studies that conclude the program has improved access to drug treatment and helped reduce street disorder in a crime-ridden neighborhood.

"They are allowed to use drugs without any discussion of treatment," he said.

The court hearing was to continue through the week.

Monique Gongracic-Speier, a lawyer for the Portland Hotel Society, testified that Insite has had about 220,000 visitors, 300 overdoses and no deaths.

Similar facilities operate in several European countries and in Australia. .

[Euphoric]

Addicts sue Ottawa, seeking legal status for injection site

Federal lawyer argues against giving drug users permanent immunity
Apr 29, 2008 04:30 AM

VANCOUVER–A permanent exemption from prosecution for users at a drug injection site in downtown Vancouver would amount to a constitutional right to use illegal drugs, a federal lawyer says.

John Hunter was arguing before the B.C. Supreme Court yesterday against a permanent exemption for North America's only supervised injection site. The federal government is being sued by two drug addicts through the Vancouver Area Drug Users Network and the Portland Hotel Society, which operates the facility in the Downtown Eastside, for permanent legal status for the site.

The injection site, called Insite, opened in 2003 after funding was provided by the province and the federal government allowed an exemption under the Criminal Code.

Users of the facility provide their own illegal drugs and have access to medical personnel. But they are not arrested because the federal government provides an exemption saying the site is a pilot project for scientific and medical evaluation.

"The relief sought by the plaintiffs has implications well beyond this," said Hunter, the lawyer representing the federal government. "It seeks to constitutionally protect the illegal use of drugs by drug addicts."

The federal government is challenging the assertion that no harm has come out of the facility's operations, and Hunter said there is scientific debate over whether Insite could be delaying people from getting treatment they need for their addictions.

Shelly Tomic, one of the two addicts suing to keep the site open, said in her affidavit that she was one of the first dozen people to use the facility.

"It's much less stressful to inject there because you don't have to do it fast," said Tomic, 40, who was a heavy cocaine user and two years ago started methadone treatment.

The lawsuit is over two issues: first, the plaintiffs say Insite is a health-care facility and the federal government has no jurisdiction; second is a Charter argument saying that if the Conservatives don't provide an exemption, it violates the security of the users.

The Conservatives have given Insite an exemption until June 30.

In Ottawa yesterday, the Conservatives launched an anti-drug ad campaign aimed at parents. The ads are part of a $111 million, five-year spending package the government committed to a national anti-drug strategy.

Of that, $45 million is new money. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said $10 million of the total is set aside for Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Health Minister Tony Clement said little about the government's commitment to the supervised injection site.

"That's a decision that has to be made by the 30th of June. We're not making that decision today," he said. "We actually view harm reduction in our treatment programs, in our enforcement programs, and in our prevention programs. All of those involve harm reduction in our view of things."

But Monique Pongracic-Speier, who represents the Portland Hotel Society, said there is a pressing need to settle the issue.

"The supervised injection site has been operating in an atmosphere of continued uncertainty," she said before Justice Ian Pitfield.

Since opening five years ago, Insite has been the subject of nearly 30 peer-reviewed scientific reviews. But a government-appointed panel, in its release earlier this month, found that the injection site accounted for less than 5 per cent of all the injections in the Downtown Eastside.

http://www.thestar.com/article/419380

[moda00]

What do they mean, "allowed?" ("They are allowed to use drugs without any discussion of treatment." as an argument against the continued operation of Insite) Uhh, obviously they are using drugs anyways, they don't need your consent. And recovery obviously cannot be forced upon someone.

I actually read a study awhile ago about needle exchanges or harm reduction clinics of some sort, that offering these services actually helped many addicts get into treatment on their own initiative- by making those resources available but not forcing them down peoples' throats or judging them, in the context of offering support and harm reduction in a safe place. I wonder if this would be the case with something like safe injection sites as well- certainly the more resources the better, though, whether or not it leads to higher rates of treatment or abstinence from problematic substances.

If iv drug users can be kept safe from HIV, hepatitis, abscesses, and infections, this is worthwhile as it improves their lives and also benefits society in reduced healthcare costs and improved public health. If people can have a safe place to inject without getting arrested on the street, this is beneficial. Medical professionals on hand to reverse any overdoses with naloxone could save lives and also save money related to emergency room visits.

And if addicted individuals can have a place to go where they feel safe, where they are not judged because of their addictions, then this is positive in and of itself. Punishing addicts does nothing to help alleviate the problems of addiction.

I do think this clinic is a great offering, and while I agree with the sentiment that it should make resources available to those who request them, such as referral to treatment programs or doctors (in fact, I bet they do this already?), it would defeat the purpose if they were to require addicts to enter treatment in order to utilize it. I feel like many people simply do not understand the principles of harm reduction. I truly hope that they will chose to keep Insite open and lift the uncertainty that continues to prevail.

Thanks for posting this!

[Euphoric]

`Realities' to decide fate of B.C. drug site

Ottawa rejects science as factor in debate over safe injection project
May 03, 2008 04:30 AM

OTTAWA–Scientific evidence alone will not determine the fate of Vancouver's supervised injection site, an undersecretary to Health Minister Tony Clement said yesterday.

Winnipeg MP Steven Fletcher said his Conservative government will make a "rational and thoughtful decision based on science" when it comes to extending or ending a federal exemption for Insite, North America's only such program.

But Fletcher told The Canadian Press the science is conflicting, so Clement will have to assess what Fletcher calls the "realities of the situation."

"People will see that the government will make the right decision for the right reasons," said Fletcher.

He listed the United Nations' 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and issues of crime prevention, rehabilitation, homelessness and mental health among the other factors involved in the government's decision.

"There's multiple sides to this and they all have to be taken into consideration," said Fletcher.

His comment came after opposition MPs in the Commons grilled the government over published criticism in a drug policy journal that accused the Conservatives of attempting to muzzle scientific study of the Insite program.

According to the International Journal of Drug Policy, the government offered to fund further study of Insite under the condition that no new research be published until after the current licence expires on June 30.

"They actually wanted the thing to quietly expire before yet another piece of research came out showing it worked," Liberal MP Dr. Carolyn Bennett said outside the Commons.

In the House, Fletcher had called Bennett's accusation ``ill-informed," but he did not elaborate.

It's just the latest front in a pitched battle over the supervised injection pilot project, which began in 2003.

In Vancouver, Evan Wood, one of the authors of the recent study, said the "Prime Minister is ignoring science in this area."

Wood said that Clement had stated several months ago that research "has raised new questions."

"The research hasn't raised new questions. The research has answered questions. There is a huge academic consensus here."

Two Vancouver groups are currently in B.C. Supreme Court seeking to keep Insite open.

The provincial government, Vancouver's mayor and the Vancouver Police Department are among those who endorse the program, and numerous scientific studies have sung its praises.

Peer-reviewed studies have suggested the program minimizes harm to addicts, reduces the spread of disease and directs addicts toward rehabilitation programs while reducing emergency health-care and law enforcement budgets.

But opponents say allowing people to inject illegal opiates under supervision promotes drug use by facilitating addiction.

"Because if you remain an addict, I don't care how much harm you reduce, you're going to have a short and miserable life," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last October.

NDP MP Libby Davies, whose Vancouver riding is home to Insite and its clientele, said study after study – and evidence on the street – shows the program works.

Insite allows intravenous drug users to inject their own heroin and cocaine with clean needles and under the supervision of a nurse.

http://www.thestar.com/article/421011