PREMIER EYES HEROIN BY PRESCRIPTION

Premier Ujjal Dosanjh won't back safe drug-injection sites anywhere in
B.C., but he says he could be persuaded to support a plan to provide
medically prescribed heroin to some addicts.

``My preference would be to expand the methadone program and to expand
counselling programs'' that would help addicts get off drugs, he said
yesterday.

He added he's a strong supporter of drug courts, in which people convicted
of drug-related offences can be sentenced to treatment rather than jail.

But addicts who can't be ``stabilized'' through methadone or counselling
programs might benefit from receiving prescriptions for their drugs ``in
very strict, controlled conditions.''

Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen also opposes safe injection sites, saying
they'd attract addicts from across the country.