UN NEEDLES CITY OVER INJECTION SITE

A Defiant Mayor Larry Campbell Says the UN Drug Control Agency Is
Merely an Arm of U.S. Drug Policy

VANCOUVER - The United Nations' drug-control agency has criticized
Vancouver's safe-injection site, saying it encourages drug use and
violates international law.

"When drug abusers can acquire illicit drugs and can take these
illicit drugs into premises which are managed by the state or the
town, then there is definitely complicity and we cannot accept that
under the international drug control convention," Herbert Schaepe,
secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board, said Tuesday.

The INCB's annual report, released Tuesday, singles out Vancouver's
site, which opened last September in the Downtown Eastside -- saying
it violates the three international drug-control treaties Canada has
signed.

"The board notes with concern that ... the Government of Canada
approved the establishment of a drug injection room in the city of
Vancouver, the first such site in North America," it says. "Such sites
are contrary to the fundamental provisions of the international drug
control treaties."

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, who was elected in part on his promise
to set up such a site, was defiant Tuesday, criticizing the INCB as
being "without merit".

"I don't think they have much credibility," said Campbell. "From my
point of view, they're simply an arm of the U.S. drug policy, which I
don't agree with. ... It's almost impossible to take them seriously."

Campbell said there is already evidence that the site, which serves
about 500 people a day, has reduced overdose deaths, helped addicts
connect with drug treatment services and made the downtown core more
livable.

"There is certainly value in harm reduction," he said. "We know
anecdotally from the people who work down there and live down there
that they have seen a difference and it's a positive one."

A delegation of three people from the INCB visited Vancouver's
injection site last October. They were given a tour of the facility
and a presentation from representatives from Health Canada and the
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

The site, located at 139 E. Hastings, is open 18 hours a day, from 10
a.m. to 4 a.m.

It has been funded by the provincial and federal governments,
including a $1.5 million grant from Health Canada to study its
effectiveness.

Clay Adams, a spokesman with the health authority, said the site --
which is a three-year trial -- does not promote drug use.

"We don't believe this is promoting injection drug use," said
Adams.

"The objective of the site is to get people that do inject to do it in
a safe environment to reduce the risk of communicable disease and
overdose deaths. The reality is people out there have drugs and they
do inject. And if they don't do it in the safe injection site, they do
it in dirty alleyways, in unsanitary conditions, using dirty needles."

Richard Elliott, director of legal research and policy for the
Canadian HIV Legal Network, said international drug treaties contain
numerous exceptions and said he believes Vancouver's site does not
violate international law.

For example, he said, the treaties provide exceptions for the use of
controlled drugs if it is for a "medical or scientific purpose".

"They serve a medical purpose, protecting the health of drug users,"
said Elliott, a lawyer. "And there are research efforts as well. We
are gathering data about how [the site] works, to see if it actually
provide benefits for people."

The INCB report also criticizes Canada for proposed federal
legislation that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of
cannabis, making it merely a ticketing offence.

"The board is concerned the revisions could contribute to the mistaken
perception that cannabis is a harmless substance," the report states.

However, the report does praise Canada for expanding the number of
drug courts -- which can send offers to drug treatment instead of to
jail.