VANCOUVER SETS UP DRUG COURTS IN CITY WITH DEVASTATING PROBLEM

VANCOUVER (CP) - It is noisy and crowded in the provincial court and
sheriffs regularly call out the names to see who has bothered to show up.

At the back of a room the sheriff rouses a young man who has fallen asleep
in a chair.

The young man is one of a daily parade of drug addicts that clog the
provincial court in Vancouver, one of the more ugly buildings housed in one
of the poorest and most drug-addled neighbourhoods in the country.

But by April, 50 drug offenders at a time could be routed through a
separate drug treatment court in the city, which has become as well known
in recent years for its drug problem as for its mild winter weather and
mountain-backed beaches.

Drug addicts facing non-violent charges - trafficking, property and
prostitution offences - could avoid jail time by agreeing to treatment and
monitoring.

"These are individuals that without a drug treatment court have no other
alternative," said Toby Louie, a spokesman for British Columbia's Attorney
General's office.

Martha Devlin, a federal prosecutor and department director in charge of
the drug court pilot project, said the details still have to be worked out.

Toronto has had a drug treatment court for two years - a pilot project
funded through Justice Canada's Crime Prevention Investment Fund.

Non-violent drug offenders agree to mandatory drug treatment to avoid jail
for federal offences. Participants must submit to weekly urine tests and
attend therapy sessions.

Successful participants - those who end up drug-free - receive a suspended
sentence or a conditional discharge but must continue therapy while they
serve out their probation.

Those who fail to complete the program go back to the regular courts for
sentencing.

Federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan said she would like to see drug
courts in all major Canadian cities by 2004.

The United States opened the doors on its first drug court more than 10
years ago, and England and Australia are setting up test courts of their own.

There has been one in Portland, Ore., since 1991 - the third in the country
that now has over 600.

"We've gone from a punishment court to a therapeutic court," said Judge
Douglas Beckman, who's presided over the court for the past year and a half.

"The idea is keeping people out of jail and off drugs and every effort is
made to force them, cajole them, influence them to stay in treatment and
stay clean."

He said it has been more successful than regular criminal courts.

"Nothing is done in the normal criminal justice system to change their
behaviour," Beckman said.

After eight years on the bench, he said authorities will never stop the
flow of drugs. The only way to combat the problem is to decrease demand.

"We've tried the alternative of jail and prison and it doesn't stop drug
use. It has almost no impact," Beckman said in a telephone interview from
Portland.

"It was a revolving door, and I think kind of a waste of my time and the
community's money."

One recent study found that every dollar spent on the Portland drug court
saves the county and state $12.50 in crime costs, enforcement fees and
health care expenses.

Government studies indicate that about 70 per cent of prisoners are in jail
because of involvement with drugs or alcohol.

"Obviously jail is no place for anybody who actually needs health care, and
somebody with an addiction needs health care support," said Maxine Davis,
executive director of the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation in Vancouver.

But Davis believes drug courts are an outdated, failed attempt because they
are a coercive way to get people off drugs.

"When it comes to this whole issue of what is the most effective way of
supporting individuals who are coping with the use of illegal drugs, it
seems reason goes out the window and emotion takes over," Davis said.

The Dr. Peter Foundation, which provides day and residential care for
people living with AIDS, would like to see safe injection sites and harm
reduction strategies to keep people safe until they choose to seek treatment.

When that happens the treatment services must be available, Davis said.

Officials are pandering to those who oppose more controversial measures,
she said.

"In the end they just need to have the courage to do what they know
evidence shows works," Davis said.

It is believed there are more than 12,000 hardcore drug users in Vancouver,
most concentrated in the downtown eastside neighbourhood.

In 1999, more than 385 addicts died of overdoses in the city - a level that
local health authorities consider a state of emergency.

There is a six-week wait for inpatient treatment beds in Portland.

In Vancouver, there are 50 people on a wait list for the emergency detox
centre, while the wait for residential treatment can take months. In
Toronto, it ranges from four to eight weeks.

British Columbia's attorney general has said the drug court could be open
in April after Ottawa committed $1.6 million over the next four years.

The federal funding will provide for the cost of the court but there has
been no commitment for increased treatment.

Louie, of the B.C. Attorney General's office, said there will be more
money, but no one has promised a dollar figure.

And critics say there aren't enough treatment beds in B.C. for those
already seeking treatment.

Without major spending on programs, the drug court will only make the wait
list longer for those who want to quit drugs without the court's involvement.

Will addicts have to commit a crime to get help, they ask?

Vancouver, like Toronto, will include a host of social services for
participants, from housing to health care.

"It is difficult to be living in a shelter, for example, and have drug use
going on all around you and come to a drug court program," said Mike
Naymark, a manager at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto.

The Toronto project included money specifically for treatment and services.

The drug court is an impetus for addicts to stay clean, he said.

"If we can get people to stay in the program past the first few weeks or
month, then they're likely going to be staying a while."