MORE CITIES NEED SAFE INJECTION SITES

Surrey-Whalley A Logical Start: Study Co-Author

Vancouver's supervised drug injection site should continue, and more
should be set up in the downtown area and in the Fraser Health region.

That's the recommendation of a University College of the Fraser
Valley criminologist who was one of two researchers hired by the RCMP
to study the issue.

"If we have one site in one location that doesn't allow for a
majority of people to access it, then we're missing a huge population
who might benefit," said Dr. Irwin Cohen.

"There's probably a market for it in the Surrey-Whalley area," he
said.

"You obviously have to have police buy-in and community
buy-in."

He spoke as pressure builds on the Conservative federal government to
decide whether Vancouver's safe injection site will be allowed to
continue on a trial basis.

Vancouver's safe injection site, known as Insite, can't operate
legally past Sept. 18 unless Health Canada extends its three-year
exemption from federal drug laws.

Advocates say the site saves lives.

Overdose deaths that ran as high as 150 per year in the Downtown
Eastside have plummeted.

And of the more than 200 addicts a year who overdose while injecting
at Insite, none has yet died.

Cohen said his survey of similar sites in countries - like Australia,
Switzerland Germany and the Netherlands - tells the same tale.

"When you are in a supervised injection site, you are injecting in a
safe environment, you are using a clean needle and you are in many
cases being taught cleaner injection techniques," he said.

The chances of dying of an overdose, with medical help standing by,
is almost zero. And patients don't need to rush for fear of being
arrested or robbed.

Cohen said the sites don't live up to some of their hype -
particularly claims that addicts will inject less and wean themselves
off drug use.

And while advocates say there's much potential to steer addicts
toward treatment, Cohen says there's so far a "very poor" record of
that actually happening.

But neither have opponents' worst fears materialized.

Cohen said there's no sign the sites encourage people to start using
heroin - all supervised sites have a policy of never taking
first-time users.

Nor do they seem to lead to a major congregation of drug dealers or a
spike in crime in surrounding areas.

"None of that is borne out by the research," he said.

The health impacts in terms of containing the spread of HIV and
hepatitis require more time to track, he said.

But Cohen said it's clear the addicts using the sites are reducing
the risk to themselves and others.

The sites also tend to reduce the visibility of the drug problem -
fewer addicts shoot up in plain view or dump dirty needles in parks
or alleys.

Cohen said the main problem with Vancouver's site is it can't keep up
with demand.

"The current site is operating at full capacity and only reaching a
small percentage of users," he said, adding most downtown IV drug
users continue to inject off the site.

Having just one site with frequent waits to get in discourages use,
he said. "I would argue if you really want to test the degree to
which this approach may work, you may need to consider expanding it."

B.C's chief medical health officer has also backed the idea of
expanding the program.

And the City of Victoria last month said it will seek permission from
Ottawa to set up its own safe injection site.