HEROIN PROJECT MAY BE WORTHY, BUT IMPOSING IT IS WRONG

You're probably sick of hearing about Vancouver's safe-injection site,
given that it has been the subject of more publicity, more consultation and
more debate than any initiative the city has undertaken in recent years.

Yet until Thursday's story in The Sun, you probably hadn't heard a word
about the scientific experiment that will provide 158 drug addicts with
free heroin. And that you hadn't heard of it is a serious problem --
serious enough to derail the entire project.

The study is part of the North American Opiate Medication Initiative, an
experiment that will be conducted simultaneously in Vancouver, Toronto and
Montreal.

The object of the trial is to see if medically prescribed heroin serves to
preserve addicts' health and quality of life better than prescribed methadone.

In Europe, where such trials have been conducted, researchers found that
addicts medicated with heroin experienced less homelessness and greater job
stability than those receiving methadone.

All in all, then, the experiment seems worthwhile. And it fits in neatly
with the harm reduction aspect of Vancouver's four pillar approach to
curing the drug ills that plague the city. Although safe-injection sites
have grabbed the headlines, heroin maintenance for hard-core addicts is a
viable form of harm reduction in that it ensures they receive a safe supply
of the drug.

Yet the complete lack of process remains troubling.

Why were no residents or business owners in the Downtown Eastside, where
the experiment will be centered, contacted ahead of time? Why was the
community permitted no say in the matter?

Although the experiment has been in the planning stage for five years,
residents and business owners learned of it only recently. As part of the
development permit process, officials supplied neighbours with four pages
of detail and some diagrams.

And concerned residents were given only until Oct. 24 to respond to the
proposal, although city planner Michael Mortensen said the deadline will be
extended to Nov. 3.

The lack of process is particularly disturbing given that residents and
business owners have genuine concerns.

The Downtown Eastside is already home to many drug users, social agencies
and poor people, and the experiment will host up to 30 users an hour.
Although the subjects in the experiment will be culled from those living in
the Downtown Eastside, the trial will concentrate addicts in one small area.

And there are reasons to believe that area might not be best for such an
experiment.

The trial will be conducted in a building one block from an elementary
school, half a block from a daycare and next door to a recently opened
building dedicated to alcohol- and drug-free housing. Surely the last thing
those trying to go straight need is to be surrounded by users day and night.

According to officials, federal government guidelines prohibit those
involved in the experiment from speaking about it publicly. That might
explain why we've heard so little about the trial, but an explanation is
not a justification.

Officials ought to take a lesson from the way the introduction of the
safe-injection site was handled. During his election campaign, Mayor Larry
Campbell promised he would develop the site, and people were regularly
consulted at every stage in the process.

In contrast, officials running the heroin experiment seem to have made
their decisions by fiat, without the participation of nearby residents and
businesses.

For the sake of the community, and for the welfare of both the experiment
and its subjects, officials should put the experiment on hold until
everyone from the community -- including addicts, of course -- has been heard.