NDP MP IS BACKING FREE-HEROIN PROPOSAL

At the depths of his heroin addiction, Bud Osborn considered carrying a
hammer to hit vulnerable people from behind for their money.

"I was desperate and hopeless. If there had been free drugs available then I
would not have had to steal and go shoplifting and it might not have taken
20 years to break free of heroin," he said.

Yesterday the cleaned-up activist stood beside New Democratic Party MP Libby
Davies as she jumped head-first into the controversy over providing free
drugs to addicts.

Davies, sick of seeing heroin addicts dying in the streets of her Vancouver
East constituency, pulled no punches as she launched a political initiative
calling for free heroin to be made available to addicts in prescription drug
trials.

She urges federal support of a program by the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health to set up the trials in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

"I know this is controversial but my constituents are dying and we have to
do something.

"Two hundred addicts have died already this year and many estimate that
another two hundred will perish before the year is over. This is
intolerable, we have to act now," said Davies.

This is not about the open-ended legalization of drugs, she emphasized. This
is a specific health intervention that can save lives; prevent the spread of
human-immunodeficiency-virus infections and reduce crime in the community.

She has been lobbying federal Health Minister Allan Rock and hopes that her
private member's motion will get across-the-board support when Parliament
resumes in the fall.

"These deaths are preventable. It's the responsibility of all levels of
government to deal with this crisis. We ignore it at our peril," said
Davies.

Deputy provincial health officer Dr. Shaun Peck welcomed the idea of heroin
trials "on a carefully controlled and medically supervised basis."

It was one of the recommendations called for by the provincial health office
in its recent report on HIV, hepatitis and intravenous drug use, said Peck.

But the idea hit a brick wall at the provincial health ministry, where
spokesman Jeff Gaulin said that the ministry would not support free-heroin
trials as there was no clear evidence they work.

"We think the way to go is to pursue the methadone program, which is not yet
at full capacity," Gaulin said.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"