VANCOUVER MAYOR LAUNCHES NEW TACTIC IN BATTLE AGAINST DRUGS

Research Trial Would Have Addicts Replace Street Narcotics With
Prescription Medication

VANCOUVER - Mayor Sam Sullivan has introduced a new approach to
fighting drug addiction and cleaning up the city's crime problem with
a project that could surpass what's been tried in other cities around
the world.

The project is a research trial that aims to help addicts by
substituting orally administered prescription medication for their
illegal street drugs.

Former drug addicts say the Chronic Addiction Substitution Treatment
research project, or CAST, may be the answer for people spiralling
down a deadly path.

The treatment program would be available for addicts who volunteer
through various agencies including those in the drug-riddled Downtown
Eastside and Insite, North America's only supervised injection site.

As part of their treatment, volunteers would also be provided with
counselling and resources for mental health issues, housing and
possibly employment.

Sullivan told a news conference yesterday that drug addiction is
destroying lives and communities as people commit crimes to get money
for their next fix.

He pointed to aggressive panhandling, auto theft, shoplifting and
property crime as some of the social blights eroding life in a city
that's set to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Sullivan said the project needs political will if the city is to solve
a longstanding problem that's getting worse.

"This project is more important than partisan politics and that is why
you will see people from all major political parties and all sectors
of society involved," he told a gathering that drew former drug
addicts and support groups for those still caught in a web of drug
dependency.

The safe injection site is currently in an operating limbo because the
Health Canada exemption that has allowed it to distribute heroin was
only extended until the end of this year.

However, this trial doesn't need approval from Health Canada because
it is prescribing legal pharmaceutical drugs.

Former Conservative MP John Reynolds is co-chairing the board of the
Inner Change Society, which will fund and manage the research trial
set to start in the fall in conjunction with Vancouver's new drug courts.