DRUG BATTLE NOT OVER, BUT DAVIES SEES SIGNS OF HOPE

Vancouver East MP Libby Davies is still pushing hard for changes to
Canada's failed war on drugs, and still getting the runaround in Parliament.

But she's no longer dismissed as a farout radical for her calls to
establish safe-injection sites and clinical heroin trials.

The Liberal government won't commit to either just yet. The NDP stalwart
however, says she's noticed a subtle but important shift in responses from
Health Minister Allan Rock.

Two weeks ago she rose in the House to ask if Rock will "finally save lives
and take action on this matter and support safe-injection sites?"

Rock replied that he's been "working with Mayor (Philip) Owen, who has
shown real leadership in Vancouver" on the drug file.

Evasive? Sure. But it's important to note Owen has led the call for
Vancouver's "four pillar" drug strategy, finally approved by council last week.

That strategy includes creating a task force on safe-injection sites, and
support for European-style clinical trials where addicts would receive
heroin to get them out of death-filled back alleys.

"For Rock to say he's supporting Mayor Owen's strategy, I read that as a
positive sign, that they are going to seriously look at this stuff, Davies
told me.

Heaven knows the overdose-death problem from injection drug use hasn't gone
away in B.C.

Last year, 235 people across the province died from overdoses. In the last
seven years, overdoses have killed 2,091 people in B.C.

To May 8 this year, 91 people across B.C. had died from overdoses. The
scourge is not restricted to the Downtown Eastside riding Davies represents.

Figures for 2000 show that Vancouver's metro region had 88 deaths, the
Lower Mainland 52, the Fraser Valley 25, metro Victoria 25, the Nanaimo
region 17, and 12 each for the Kamloops and Kelowna regions.

Despite Ottawa's continued reliance on the justice-based war on drugs,
Davies is optimistic that clinical trials will soon commence.

Her view is shared by Jurgen Rehm of Toronto's prominent Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, who recently told a Senate committee studying
drugs that Ottawa is getting ready to move.

Davies' cause was also boosted when Robert Lesser, the RCMP's top
drug-enforcement officer, called for safe-injection sites to reduce AIDS
and hepatitis C.

"That's very significant because locally we've had this enormous difficulty
with the RCMP taking an archaic, very punitive view of the drug issue,"
Davies said.

"The big question I've got now is not so much federal, but is Gordon
Campbell going to turn his back on that."

Campbell's election book made only a minute reference to the drug issue,
calling for enhanced "preventative" efforts such as addiction counselling
for pregnant moms and reducing fetal alcohol syndrome.

"The question is whether they're going to back it up with resources," said
Davies, "Is it a priority?"

She notes that Owen has "moved hugely on this issue and taken a lot of flak
for it. In some ways he's going to be a very key connection back to Campbell.

"Owen is really going to have to keep up the pressure on his old buddy."

Davies predicts it will be tough to get Campbell to move "because he
doesn't want to be seen spending money on those services."

But she recalls that Campbell, as mayor, was furious when the NDP shut down
the Pender detox centre. "We've never really recovered from that decision."

Nor will B.C. recover from drug abuse if Ottawa keeps pandering to the war
on drugs and Campbell ignores it all.