VICTORIA TRIES OUT NEEDLE DISPOSAL BOXES

The city of Victoria has spent $20,000 on five needle disposal boxes
aimed at getting injection drug needles off the street.

City spokeswoman Katie Josephson said the project will be evaluated
in six months to see if the downtown locations have proved effective
in reducing the number of openly discarded needles.

The boxes are at Reeson Park, Bastion Square behind the Yates Street
parkade, the 900-block of Pandora Avenue, the 1700-block of Store
Street and the 700-block of Fort Street.

The needle boxes were among dozens of recommendations to address
street and homeless issues made in the Mayor's Task Force on Breaking
the Cycle of Mental Illness, Addictions and Homelessness.

Before the task force was formed, the city council rejected a
proposal to install the needle disposal boxes with several
councillors saying the boxes would serve to advertise the city's drug
problem to tourists.