MAYOR PUSHES DRUG PLAN

A Private Poll Showed Support For Alternative Measures

Mayor Sam Sullivan ramped up his marketing of a new alternative
drug-treatment plan for cocaine and crystal-meth addicts with the
release of a new poll showing that most Vancouver residents support
his approach.

The survey, commissioned by Sullivan and released Friday, found that
61 per cent of respondents would support a prescription drug program
to deal with rampant drug addiction in the Downtown Eastside.

The mayor is lobbying the federal government for an exemption from
Canada's narcotics laws that would sanction a large-scale program in
Vancouver for drug maintenance for at least 700 cocaine and
crystal-meth users.

Sullivan's plan, called CAST (chronic addiction substitution
treatment), would involve providing legal drugs (such as opiate-based
Oxy Contin) as substitutes for the stimulant-type illegal drugs.

The poll, conducted by Justason Market Intelligence, also found that
most people believe traditional abstinence-based drug treatment
programs are not working.

The poll, financed by Sullivan and not city hall, found that 71 per
cent of respondents believe that less than one quarter of addicts stay
off drugs after traditional treatment programs.

The random telephone survey involved 303 Vancouver residents and was
conducted from November 23 to 26 last year. The poll carries a margin
of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points 95 per cent of the
time.

In a press statement released Friday, Sullivan said: "The public
appears to be aware that large numbers of addicted people will
continue to be involved in crime and disorder as a result of long-term
drug use.

"We know that many drug users do not respond, in the long term, to
traditional abstinence-based treatment programs."

The survey shows people are willing to try new methods, said David
Holtzman, a former head of A Loving Spoonful, a West End food program
for AIDS patients, who is helping Sullivan set up the program.