FUTURE DOUBTFUL FOR SAFE INJECTION SITE

Victoria's aspirations for a safe injection site will suffer a
premature death if the federal government pulls the plug on
Vancouver's safe injection facility, Mayor Alan Lowe said.

Lowe noted that the federal government has yet to extend the licence
for Vancouver's safe injection site and said a decision to terminate
the pilot project would stall momentum in Victoria toward a similar site.

"It would kill our safe injection site and I don't want to see that
happen," said Lowe.

The Vancouver facility, InSite, is a pilot project made possible by
an exemption under the Canada Health Act allowing clients to use
illegal drugs on the premises, including heroin and crack cocaine.

But with that exemption due to expire in September and Prime Minister
Stephen Harper stating publicly that his government opposes legalized
drug use, supporters of a safe injection site for Victoria are not optimistic.

"The safe consumption sites are part of an overall strategy to save
lives and without that in our tool kit it makes the work of saving
lives in Victoria more difficult," said AIDS Vancouver Island
spokesperson Erik Ages. "It would be a great shame to take a step
back from that direction," he said.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Island Health Authority is proceeding with
research and budgetary groundwork for a safe injection site
regardless of what happens on the Mainland.

The Island's chief medical health officer, Richard Stanwick, is
developing a business plan that will be submitted to the VIHA board
of directors in the coming months. However, budgetary approval would
not be contemplated until 2007-08 at the earliest.