CITY TO APPLY FOR THREE SAFE DRUG SITES

Armed With New Report That Says Addicts Need Help, Mayor Lowe Is
'Hopeful' Proposal Will Be Approved

Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe is applying for an exemption to Canada's
drug laws to operate three supervised drug-consumption sites, based
on a report released yesterday that concludes addicts here need urgent help.

"We must do something to improve the current situation and we cannot
wait any longer," lead researcher Benedikt Fischer, of the Centre for
Addictions Research of B.C., said. "It should have happened yesterday."

The city will apply to Health Canada by December to operate a
three-year research project that would feature multiple sites where
addicts could shoot up -- and possibly also smoke or inject drugs --
in a supervised setting. They'd be given clean needles, but not the
drugs, and would be offered basic health services as well as
referrals for social, health, housing and addiction services.

To allow this, the federal government must grant an exemption to the
Controlled Drug and Substances Act. However, the Conservatives are
cool to the idea of such sites. The government won't consider any new
research sites until December, when it decides whether to extend an
exemption for Vancouver's InSite, the country's only injection site.

But last week, B.C. Health Minister George Abbott said he'd step in
to help Victoria, promising to ask federal Health Minister Tony
Clement to support the sites.

And Lowe is "hopeful" Victoria's proposal will succeed because the
idea of three decentralized sites -- based on models in Switzerland
and Germany -- is different from Vancouver's single large site, which
has drawn criticism. Lowe contends the Victoria project will
therefore offer the country another model to consider.

"We need to move forward with this to look at public order on the
streets and see how we can reach those most vulnerable," Lowe said
upon the release of the $60,000 feasibility study.

"Just having our police officers trying to deal with the drug
addiction problem in our community is not working," Lowe said.

The city will create three sites: One in the downtown core, and two
more at locations yet to be determined.

Greater Victoria is home to an estimated 2,000 injection-drug users
- -- most of whom use heroin and cocaine -- as well of hundreds of
others who pop pills or smoke crack and crystal meth.

Most of these high-frequency users get high up to eight times a day,
are at risk of death and disease, and are homeless or close to it,
Fischer said.

The consumption sites are expected to prevent overdose deaths, slow
the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV, and curtail hospital
emergency-room visits -- saving up to $2.8 million in health-care
costs, according to the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

The sites are also expected to take drug paraphernalia and
intoxicated users off the streets. They would cost an estimated $1.2
million a year to operate, and, ideally, would be open all the time.

Victoria police Deputy Chief Bill Naughton said police "deal with the
addict population daily, hourly." He said drug-consumption sites
could significantly reduce the number of people shooting up in public
and walking around dazed and violent.

Yet the sites won't be the only answer to the problems, concluded the
study, which was commissioned by the city and VIHA. The report calls
for more addiction treatment services, citing gaps in the current setup.

The study included a review of consumption sites in Australia, Europe
and Canada, peer-reviewed studies, and a survey of local politicians,
health, police, and business officials, as well as drug users.