U.S. EXPERT SPEAKS UP FOR SAFE INJECTION SITES

VANCOUVER -- Another voice is speaking up for safe injection sites for drug
users in Vancouver.

Dr. Ethan Nadelmann of the U.S.-based Drug Policy Alliance says safe
injection sites reduce public nuisance and stop addicts from injecting on
the streets.

Nadelmann, a former Princeton University professor, is considered an expert
on drug policy reform, and is a critic of the U.S. war on drugs.

The perception is safe injection sites condone intravenous drug use.

But Nadelmann says the safe sites actually keep people alive by preventing
the spread of disease and opening doors to treatment and counselling.

Some community groups -- impatient with the long delay in getting an
official safe injection site -- have been running an unauthorized site for
the last month in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.