INSITE GRANTED '09 EXEMPTION

B.C. Supreme Court Rules in Safe-Injection Site's Favour

Supporters of Vancouver's safe-injection site won a huge victory
yesterday after a B.C. Supreme Court decision declared it would be
unconstitutional for the federal government to shut down Insite.

In a 59-page ruling, Justice Ian Pitfield granted Insite, North
America's only supervised safe-injection facility, an exemption from
federal drug laws until June 30, 2009.

"Simply stated, I cannot agree with the [federal government's]
submission that an addict must feed his addiction in an unsafe
environment when a safe environment that may lead to rehabilitation is
the alternative," he wrote.

Pitfield said drug addiction is an illness and that the services
Insite provide -- reducing risk of overdose and infection, and
providing access to counselling that may lead to rehab and abstinence
- -- are considered health care.

The decision was greeted with euphoria by advocates, who have pulled
out all the stops in recent weeks to keep Insite operating past June
30, when its exemption under federal drug laws expires.

"It's a very good ruling from the judge," said Mayor Sam Sullivan.
"It's a very powerful statement about who we are in Vancouver and our
values."

Jenny Kwan, MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, where Insite is located,
called the ruling "a significant victory for the people in my
community and for all Canadians" and sends a "strong signal" to
Ottawa. Kwan is seeking to solidify the judicial ruling with a private
member's bill in the provincial legislature calling for the B.C.
government to designate Insite a health facility.

An elated Liz Evans, director of the Portland Hotel Society, which
runs Insite, said the ruling was unexpected but "absolutely the right
response" from the judge.

"It's a landmark ruling," she said. "Ultimately as far as the court is
concerned, Insite has a permanent constitutional exemption . . . It
means we can stay open forever."

Insite, which is modelled after harm-reduction facilities in Europe,
sees about 600 to 1,100 people daily.

It has operated in the Downtown Eastside since 2003 under an exemption
from the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

The permit, already extended twice, expires at the end of next
month.

Evans said Pitfield's deadline should give Parliament enough time to
rewrite sections in the act to allow for medical use of narcotics if
they are used in a health-care context. Late yesterday afternoon,
federal Health Minister Tony Clement's office released a brief
statement stating, "we are studying the decision."

The case was brought forward by PHS Community Services, two drug users
and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, who claimed that
anti-drug laws shouldn't apply to addicts seeking treatment and that
shutting down Insite would violate an addict's right to life, liberty
and security.

The federal government argued that the state has a compelling interest
in prohibiting the injection of controlled substances "because of
their adverse effects on individuals and community health" and that
allowing Insite to operate creates a safe haven for drug users and
undermines the objective of federal drug laws.

Pitfield disagreed, saying the federal government's position "amounts
to a condemnation of the consumption that led to addiction in the
first place, while ignoring the resulting illnesses."