`Shooting Galleries' miss target, B.C. minister says

Vancouver (CP) B.C.'s health minister is ruling out "shooting galleries" as
a weapon against an HIV epidemic among skid row drug users considered to be
one of the worst in the developed world.

Joy MacPhail's opposition puts her at odds with some in the downtown
eastside considered Canada's poorest neighbourhood who say safe
houses could quell the soaring HIV rates.

But MacPhail said yesterday the concept would fuel an epidemic that's led
some to fear up to 3,000 addicts are infected due to dirty needles.

"Let's be clear on this: These are shooting galleries where people who are
unhealthy, sick and addicted use illegal substances," MacPhail said.

"It doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever for healthcare dollars being
put into shooting galleries."

Instead, MacPhail called for a harmreduction strategy to help people beat
their addictions.

The HIV infection rate is estimated to be as high as 50 per cent among the
6,000 10,000 injectiondrug users who frequent the downtown eastside,
which prompted the health board to declare a medical emergency last month.

Shooting galleries are being debated this week because they are among the
solutions proposed in a longawaited consultants' report on spending $3
million in funding MacPhail has earmarked to deal with the crisis.

"What you're seeing here is like taking all the addicts in Toronto and
putting them in a fiveblockby10block radius," says John Turvey,
executive director of the Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society.

"If you did that in any metropolitan centre in Canada, it would create
havoc. That's the situation we've got here."

Last week , the city announced it planned to hire as many as 100 new police
officers and open an addictioin treatment centre to combat the city's HIV
epidemic and propertycrime problem.

Over the last five years, intravenous drugs users have switched slowly from
using heroin to cocaine.

"We know that people injecting cocaine have a much more disorganized
lifestyle than people who use heroin," says Martin Schecter, codirector of
the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIVAIDS.

"People who inject cocaine tend to do it much more often. They are more
likely to share needles. They don't have the wherewithal to get it together
to use clean needles when they need them."

Dirty needles are one way of being infected with the human immunodeficiency
virus, which can turn into AIDS.

Turvey said safe houses are worth considering, but only following detailed
study.