SINGING PRAISES OF VANCOUVER'S SAFE-INJECTION SITE

Dean Wilson And Shelley Tomic See Themselves As Living Proof Of
Insite's Success

VANCOUVER -- As his lawyer proclaimed yesterday that Vancouver's
safe-injection site had been granted a permanent constitutional
exemption, Dean Wilson pumped his right fist and smiled. Before long
he was shouting, "We won!" "Let's face it, this whole thing started
with a bunch of users back at Oppenheimer Park in 1998," Mr. Wilson
said at a news conference. "When I first mentioned safe injection
sites to mayor [Philip] Owen, his mouth dropped. He didn't know what
the heck I was talking about. So we've come a long way, and I think
this opens the door and I would be appalled if more [safe-injection
sites] aren't opened."

Mr. Wilson was a plaintiff in the court action filed against the
federal government and issued an affidavit on behalf of Insite's
cause. The five-page document details his experiences with drugs, and
the positive effects the safe-injection site has had on Vancouver drug
users.

Mr. Wilson, 52, has been injecting heroin since he was 12. A couple of
years later, he moved on to cocaine.

He's lived in the Downtown Eastside for the past 10 years and served
as president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) from
2000 until 2003. He now is on the organization's board of directors.
He's also worked as a co-chair for the Harm Reduction Action Society
and sat on the federal Ministerial Council for HIV/AIDS.

Over the past four years, Mr. Wilson has received methadone treatment
to curb his heroin use. Although he admits he didn't take to the
treatment at first, the methadone has helped him reduce his heroin
habit, particularly over the past two years. Before the treatment
began, Mr. Wilson visited Insite an average of 15 times a day. He now
injects at the facility only when he feels ill or fears he could overdose.

Mr. Wilson writes in the affidavit that he has "seen Insite's staff
save people from drug overdoses that would have been fatal on the streets."

More important, he says, "Insite has given dignity to people who have
to struggle to have their humanity recognized." The Insite staff has
developed a level of trust and respect with drug users that is unique
for the Downtown Eastside.

When asked what he says to those who claim Insite should be shut down
because it encourages drug use, Mr. Wilson gave the same answer he's
been providing ever since the facility opened: "It's ridiculous.
People are going to use drugs. They have an addiction, they have a
physical disability."

While he was careful not to be too jubilant after Tuesday's ruling,
Mr. Wilson believes his cause is on the right track. "Slowly but
surely, we're going to show the rest of this country that what we're
doing here is right."

Safer than the streets

Shelley Tomic was addicted to speed before she ever saw the light of
day. Her mother injected the substance throughout her pregnancy. As a
baby in a Calgary hospital, Ms. Tomic had to be weaned off the drug.

Ms. Tomic, now 39, moved to Vancouver in her early teens and, in
addition to the speed habit she maintained throughout her early
childhood, she developed an addiction to Talwin and Ritalin. By age
19, she was turning tricks in the Downtown Eastside to support a
cocaine habit. By 26, she was on to heroin.

But, Ms. Tomic wrote in an affidavit filed with the B.C. Supreme
Court, the Insite staff helped her get her addiction under control.

"I sincerely believe that, without the staff at Insite, I would not
have stayed on methadone treatment this year."

The methadone helps keep Ms. Tomic's heroin habit in check. The Insite
staff, she says, does even more.

"Insite is about a lot more than getting high. The people there are my
support system. .. If I feel like using [heroin], I go to Insite and
the staff can usually talk me through it."

Her positive experiences with the safe-injection site are the reason
Ms. Tomic joined Dean Wilson as a plaintiff in court action filed
against the federal government. On Tuesday, Insite was granted a
permanent constitutional exemption from the country's drug laws.

Ms. Tomic says injecting at Insite is a far safer option than in a
street or an alley.

"I have injected in other people's hotel rooms and in the alleys in
the [Downtown Eastside], but I never liked it - especially the alleys.
You feel unsafe. ... They are dirty. Also, you feel under pressure to
inject as fast as possible, in case the police bust you and take your
stuff. ... You just jam your fix into yourself wherever you can find a
vein, as fast as possible."

Like many in the Downtown Eastside, Ms. Tomic believes that what the
Insite staff provide from a community standpoint is just as important,
if not more so, than mere needles.

"If I am feeling depressed or down, I can talk to the staff at Insite.
Since Insite opened, my mental and spiritual health and my sense of
self-esteem have gotten so much better than they used to be, and
that's helping me to stay off heroin and stay as healthy as possible.
I don't know what I would do if I did not have my support system at
Insite."