FEDERAL INDECISION PLAGUES SAFE INJECTION SITE

It's Been A Gloomy Month For Local Safe Injection Site Advocates.

September kicked off with Health Canada refusing to "entertain"
applications for the establishment of new safe injection sites until
the end of 2007.

This decision, which directly effects Victoria's pending application
for its own safe injection site, emerged when the Conservative
government addressed the future of Insite, Vancouver's safe injection
site that was established as a pilot project in 2003.

Insite was born when Health Canada, under the Liberal government,
granted the site operators a three-year exemption from the federal
drug laws and $500,000 annually in operational costs; however, with
the exemption ending mid-September, the Conservatives were forced to
take a stand on this controversial issue.

A few weeks before the big deadline, they announced their indecision.

They'll decide the future of Insite by Dec. 31, 2007, said a press
release, after more research examines how "supervised injection sites
affect crime, prevention and treatment." In the meantime, it's
business as usual at Insite, where staff supervises about 600
injection drug users daily as well as refer them to councilors and
other social services.

The government's unwillingness to address the issue head-on raises a
heated question.

Are the Conservatives more concerned with maintaining political
support among socially conservative voters or with caressing a
network of support for society's most vulnerable?

Stephen Harper is no doubt well aware that some right-wing voters
would be appalled if the Conservatives were to take a progressive
approach to substance abuse--even if piles of existing research
proved its benefits--by continuing to support Insite and green
lighting Victoria's application.

Harper is also well aware that merely entering the debate would push
the party into the tedious political playground of ethics and morals.

The Health Canada press release held a sober tone and strategically
avoided citing any safe injection site benefit.

"Do safe injection sites contribute to lowering drug use and fighting
addiction? Right now the only thing the research to date has proven
conclusively is drug addicts need more help to get off drugs," said
Health Minister Tony Clement in the release.

Also missing from the release were statements pertaining to safe
injection sites' roles as a first stop on the road to treatment as
well as their part in reducing the spread of blood-borne infections
such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C.

Its tone countered an RCMP report released last month--also set to
influence the safe injection site decision--that noted Insite didn't
increase crime in the area or attract drug dealers or users from
other jurisdictions.

The City of Victoria, the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the
University of Victoria are currently collaborating on a study slated
to accompany Victoria's application for a Health Canada exemption.

While this local study is being painted in a supportive framework,
Health Canada will be conducting its own research and working on a
national drug strategy.

It sounds to me like the Conservatives are digging for a reason to say, "No."

It's been a slow process to get to the momentum going for a safe
injection site locally. Hopefully, the momentum will be maintained
despite the roadblocks in the interim.