LOCAL ADVOCATE WELCOMES B.C. COURT DECISION

Drugs AIDS Saint John Official Thinks Ruling Could Affect National
Policy and Funding

SAINT JOHN - It's not often a decision on a program in the east end
of Vancouver has an impact more than 5,700 kilometres away in Saint
John but, in time, it could.

A British Columbia court ruling has struck down laws prohibiting
possession and trafficking of drugs by those accessing help at
supervised injection sites, effectively granting a reprieve for
Vancouver's controversial injection facility known as Insite, the
country's first safe injection site for drug addicts.

The decision has left the federal government "very disappointed,"
Health Minister Tony Clement has said.

The latest exemption was to expire June 30, but the B.C. court ruling
gives the federal government until June 30, 2009 to try to fix the
drug law. In the meantime, Insite is exempt.

Advocates for harm-reduction methods toward drug addiction, such as
safe injection sites and needle exchanges, think the decision could
affect national policy and subsequent funding.

"We see it as the ultimate model of harm reduction," says Julie
Dingwell, the executive director of AIDS Saint John and a
harm-reduction supporter. "A supervised injection site is a medical
service. Once they become connected, they then become interested in
accessing other services. We can gain their trust and then let them
know about all the other programs available to them."

Data shows that, since the inception of the pilot program in 2003,
there are far fewer drug overdoses and deaths in Vancouver, says Dingwell.

"These things not only save lives, they're saving potentially billions
of dollars in health-care costs when we reduce the spread of
blood-borne pathogens and the incredible numbers of hospital stays
that can happen when people are using injection drugs and not taking
care of themselves," she said.

The Vancouver's Insite program receives an exemption from the
Controlled Drug and Substances Act that allows drug addicts to inject
drugs in a clean, safe environment with health professionals on-site
and no fear of arrest.

The current federal drug strategy is heavy on law enforcement
solutions, such as stiffer penalties for drug-related crime, but vague
when it comes to treatment options.

The ruling, say some advocates and legal experts, could prompt
injection-site proponents to try to launch other, similar facilities
across Canada, though some acknowledged it's likely the case will have
to survive appeals before that can happen.

AIDS Saint John is not actively seeking a supervised injection site,
Dingwell said, because more data is needed and because there are no
programs in place to refer people to. Instead, groups in the province
are working with government to put more resources into addictions
treatment immediately.

"We are in a desperate situation in Saint John and in all of New
Brunswick," said Dingwell.

"We have hundreds of people on waiting lists and they will be on wait
lists for years, languish and die. That is not harm reduction."

The Insite ruling has been greeted ecstatically by supporters, who
mused about the possibility of using the ruling to open similar
facilities. Justice Ian Pitfield wrote that denying access to the site
ignores the illness of addiction and violates drug addicts' right -
enshrined in Section 7 of the Charter - to life, liberty and security.

"While there is nothing to be said in favour of the injection of
controlled substances that leads to addiction, there is much to be
said against denying addicts health-care services that will ameliorate
the effects of their condition," he wrote.

"I cannot agree with Canada'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."

Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe said the B.C. capital wants to follow
Vancouver's lead and set up its own supervised facility, while Toronto
councillor Gord Perks, who sits on a committee that shapes drug
policy, said the ruling was great news as his city examines its options.

The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates 250,000 Canadians are
infected with hepatitis C, with approximately 3,200 to 5,000 new cases
every year.