INJECTION SITE STUDY GIVEN GREEN LIGHT

Undaunted by the Harper government's distaste for the harm reduction
approach to drug addiction, Victoria is forging ahead with efforts
to build the city's first safe injection site.

Mayor Alan Lowe announced Wednesday that the University of Victoria
will "immediately begin" a research study aimed at convincing Ottawa
to approve a safe-injection site for Victoria.

"It will give us the information we require to write the proposal to
Health Canada," Lowe said. "This is the start of research that will
provide us with local scientific data and help us develop... made in
Victoria supervised drug use options."

One of the keys in the federal approval process is securing a Health
Canada exemption from section 56 of the Canada Health Act, the part
that prohibits the use of illegal drugs in health-care facilities.

Canada's only supervised injections site, known as InSite, has been
operating in Vancouver since the fall of 2003. A three-year pilot
project, the facility is hoping to have it exemption extended.
However, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper told
Lowe during a recent visit to Victoria that safe-injection sites
clash with his party's ideology.

Vancouver Island Health Authority chief medical health officer
Richard Stanwick said even if the study doesn't lead to a
safe-injection site, the research will likely identify other ways
the city's growing population of intravenous drug users.

"This will move our understanding of this population forward
substantially," Stanwick said. "The understanding we will gain
regardless of the supervised consumption site... is going to be of
real value on its own."

The research, expected to take four to six months, will be conducted
by Dr. Benedikt Fischer of the UVic Centre for Addictions Research.

Fischer said the research will look at evidence from safe injection
sites currently operating in 12 countries around the world.
Researchers will also interview members of Victoria's IV drug
community and consider existing reports on the subject deemed
relevant to Victoria's situation.

"We will build a set of recommendations and draft and design some
options," Fischer said.

However, he stressed that safe injection sites are just "part of a
puzzle to alleviate" the harm that drug users inflict on themselves
and the rest of society.

"It's not just about giving (addicts) a place to go and smoke their
crack," he said. "They might need laundry, they might need housing,
they might need food. There are a lot of associated issues we need
to understand."

Lowe, who has toured safe-injection sites in Europe, stressed that
any such facility in Victoria will be designed to meet local needs.

"Each one was tailored to the specific needs of its community," Lowe
said of his site visits. "One size does not fit all."

While it's unclear how the Harper government will react to
Victoria's proposal, Stanwick said the experience in Vancouver has
saved lives, reduced the spread of infectious diseases and, in some
cases, addicts having kicked their drug habits.

"What we really want to do is keep them alive long enough so that
when they do break the cycle of addiction there will be a life for them."

The $300,000 study is being funded by the Vancouver Island Health
Authority ($250,000) and the Ministry of Health ($50,000).

City spokesperson Cheekwan Ho said that amount covers all the
research, public education, extensive public consultation, technical
advice, funding for other organizations that might contribute and
the cost of preparing the city's submission to Health Canada this fall.