Fight against drug overdose deaths still `at mile zero'

Three years after an exhaustive study of drug overdose deaths in B.C.,
only one recommendation out of 63 has been implemented.

But the report's author, former B.C. chief coroner Vince Cain, said he
believes the report's recommendations including one that the
province consider establishing a heroin maintenance program for
addicts are as relevant today as they were when it was submitted.

``We're at mile zero,'' said Cain, who has since retired. ``Frankly,
I'm disappointed. I thought it was off to a flying start, but . . . it
got shelved.''

Cain said he believes government would have acted differently if
politicians were directly affected by the problem.

``If a cabinet minister lost a son or daughter to an overdose, then
there would be changes like you never saw before,'' he said.

Earlier this week, about 200 marchers gathered at Oppenheimer Park in
the downtown eastside to commemorate the deaths of 1,222 people who
have died of drug overdoses since 1993. They also called on the
provincial government to adopt Cain's report.

``That report is as good today as it was then, but nothing has
changed,'' Cain said. ``People are still dying. There are more
addicts. There's more pain and suffering. The only way this can hit
home is if the public really understands the issues. Unless they
realize it's costing people in B.C. well over $1 billion for this
problem, nothing is going to change.''

Cain said the one recommendation that was implemented was that the
B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons, and not Ottawa, oversee
B.C.'s methadone program to providing easier access to the synthetic
drug, which is supplied to addicts as a replacement for heroin and
morphine.

When he wrote the report, he said, access to methadone was difficult
because only 35 physicians in B.C. were trained to prescribe and
monitor people on it. But once the B.C. College of Physicians and
Surgeons began overseeing the program, the number of physicians
prescribing methadone increased to 180.

Health Minister Joy MacPhail said the number of physicians now
prescribing methadone is 250, and the number of addicts in the program
has increased from 1,200 in 1995 to 2,500 in 1996.

However, she said a heroin maintenance program has not been
implemented because heroin is still an illegal substance.

She said AttorneyGeneral Ujjal Dosanjh has brought the Cain report to
Ottawa's attention and is now awaiting a response from the federal
justice minister.

Some other recommendations in the Cain report are:

That the attorneygeneral begin discussions with the federal
government on the feasibility of decriminalizing the possession and
use of specified substances by people shown to be addicted to those
specific substances.

That soft drugs, such as marijuana, be legalized.

That an alcohol and drug detox and treatment centre be provided for
young offenders.

That the province discuss with the federal government the merits of
mandatory maximum life sentences, without parole, for people convicted
of importing and trafficking in large quantities of drugs.

That needle exchange programs be expanded.

That the quality of drugs on the street be monitored and that the
information be made available to health care professionals and the
addict population.