SIX-MONTH REPRIEVE FOR INSITE DENOUNCED AS A STALLING TACTIC

Decision Unlikely To Buttress Victoria's Bid For Similar Site, Local
Politicians, Officials Say

The federal government's six-month extension to a supervised
injection site in Vancouver is a stalling tactic unlikely to bolster
Victoria's push for a similar research project, say local politicians.

Health Minister Tony Clement has extended until June 2008 an
exemption, under Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act, to Insite -- a supervised injection site in the Lower Mainland.

The City of Victoria, based on studies by Vancouver Island's chief
medical health officer and the Centre for Addictions Research of
B.C., is applying to Health Canada for the same exemption. B.C.
Health Minister George Abbott and Premier Gordon Campbell support that move.

But Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca Liberal MP Keith Martin called yesterday's
extension a crass attempt by the war-on-drug Conservatives to cool
political heat on them until a federal election is completed -- after
which they'll shut it down if they can.

"If Prime Minister [Stephen] Harper really believed that Insite is a
useful tool in treating addictions, he would have extended the
program for years, not months."

Victoria NDP MP Denise Savoie agrees the Conservative's "narrow
ideological view" on drugs does not mesh with running supervised
injection sites. "I am a little cynical about these short-term
extensions. It's no way to address a serious health issue," Savoie said.

"And it leaves Victoria in limbo."

Provincial health officer Perry Kendall said he is personally
"skeptical" of the delay because there is overwhelming local and
international evidence supporting supervised injection sites.

However, he added it only makes sense that before making a final
decision, Clement would want to see the results of an independent
study of Insite that his government has requested.

Based on a feasibility study the Centre for Addictions Research of
B.C. released this summer, Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe maintains that a
supervised injection site is needed as part of a continuum of health
services -- including treatment beds and strategies -- in the city.

He doesn't view Insite's extension as a boon for Victoria's proposal:
"I wouldn't read too much into it," Lowe said.

Lowe views the extension of Insite as a short-term attempt by the
Conservatives to get candidates elected in urban centres -- where
many voters support harm-reduction policies.

The City of Victoria is crafting its application to Health Canada for
an exemption under Canada's drug laws to operate supervised sites as
a research project.

In the study released this summer, researcher Benedikt Fischer
suggested that Victoria set up three small sites, possibly including
a mobile unit, for research.

The multiple sites would cost an estimated $1.2 million to operate
annually and could save up to $2.8 million in health-care costs,
according to an earlier report by Vancouver Island Health Authority
chief medical health officer Dr. Richard Stanwick.

AIDS researchers Evan Wood, Mark W. Tyndall, Julio S. Montaner and
Thomas Kerr evaluated Insite and found that it increased the number
of intravenous drug users seeking treatment and decreased all
measures of public disorder.

Bio-ethicist Eike Kluge, at the University of Victoria, said
supervised injection sites make for good health policy.

"But it's not good enough just to have supervised injection sites,"
he added. "There has to be treatment options with that."