INJECTION SITE SEEKS TO EXPAND

Vancouver's historic safe-injection site may not exist after
September, but that's not stopping them from trying to expand their services.

The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which runs the site, made a
proposal to the City of Vancouver in April to add 30 beds and a food
service to the facility. They're awaiting a final decision.

Coastal Health spokeswoman Laurie Dawkins said addicts who use the
site regularly ask for help getting off drugs, and sometimes need a
place to stay for a few days before they can get into a treatment centre.

"It's a matter of getting people from using [drugs] to treatment," she said.

This is the first such site in North America and operates under an
exception from Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. That
exception expires in September and if it isn't renewed, the facility
will have to shut down. Vancouver's mayor and several community and
health organizations are lobbying Ottawa to keep the site open.