DRUG USERS NEED SAFE INJECTION SITES: HEALTH CANADA

VANCOUVER - A report commissioned by Health Canada recommends that safe
injection sites be set up for intravenous drug users. The sites would
counter the spread of HIV and other diseases by people who share needles,
says the study by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network

In Vancouver, studies show almost a third of intravenous drug users have
HIV, and nearly 90 per cent have hepatitis C. Similar trends have been
reported in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Quebec City.

But a spokesperson for a group in Vancouver called Community Alliance
denounced the idea of injection sites, saying they would help keep users
hooked. Richard Lee said the sites would enable people "to live with a life
of hell by maintaining their drug addiction."

Thomas Carr, a health-care researcher in Vancouver, disagreed saying
studies of injection sites in Europe and Australia have shown a decrease in
the spread of disease.

"We give people syringes because we want them to inject more safely," Carr
said. "But then we basically say go out and do it in an unsterile setting,
such as the street or an alley, so we're kind of going half way with our
measures right now."

Carr said studies from other countries also show fewer drug users and
discarded needles in parks. And he said more drug users were directed to
treatment programs.

Federal and provincial health ministers have set up a committee to look at
the feasibility of the injection sites.