SUPPORT MOUNTS FOR SAFE-INJECTION SITES

Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen says he is buoyed by support from at least 12
cities across Canada that appear interested in his proposal to set up
federally run safe-injection sites for heroin addicts. The move was
endorsed at a meeting of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in
Ottawa on Feb. 17.

Owen, who hopes safe-injection sites will reduce health-care costs and the
toll on lives as a result of reusing needles, got a boost yesterday from
findings of a study conducted by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network that
recommends the federal government support the creation of safe-injection
sites. The study says sterile facilities where addicts can inject
themselves could help prevent overdoses, curb the HIV epidemic, hepatitis C
infections and provide a catchment area for social intervention to help
addicts. Owen was surprised when there was unanimous support from the
federation and when his proposal was met with enthusiasm from federal
Health Minister Anne McLellan during a meeting the two had in Ottawa after
the Feb. 17 conference.

Owen told The Province that a Health Canada meeting in the last few days
with local government officials to look at the idea brought together
representatives of 12 cities in Canada. He said at first only four or five
cities showed interest.

"The proposal has a lot of legs now and a lot of interest and a lot of
support across the country -- there are a few groups in Vancouver that are
against it and that is because they don't understand it and they won't
listen," said Owen.

Clinics run by the government would, among other things, help isolate the
dealer from the consumer, said Owen.

"Let us rescue the users as health issues and get them to stabilize their
lives," he said. "Instead of this awful injection stuff on the street, we
get them into a supervised area -- it's clean, it's neat, it's safe and we
can deal with these people [addicts] because we suddenly find out who they
are and how we can help them -- social rehabilitation in one form or another."

The legal network study said: "What is required is an acknowledgement, that
in moral terms, keeping drug users alive outweighs the supposed 'moral
evil' of drug use."