CANADA MAY SUPPLY HEROIN TO ADDICTS

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - Dismayed by a horrific death toll from
drug overdoses, Vancouver authorities are nudging Canada steadily closer to
breaking a North American taboo by supplying heroin to addicts.

So far this year, 224 people in British Columbia - mostly from Vancouver's
skid-row areas - have died of overdoses, up 40 percent from last year.

The deaths, blamed on an influx of cheaper and more potent heroin, prompted
the provincial health officer, Dr. John Millar, to recommend last month
that health workers provide heroin to certain addicts on a trial basis.

The aim would be to reduce the risk of overdose and restore some stability
to the addicts' lives by freeing them from the daily scavenging for money
to buy their next fix.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski