HIV infects one in four drug users: Task force says decriminalize
cocaine and heroin possession

By: John Bermingham, Staff Reporter

The rate of HIV infection among drug addicts in Vancouver is among the
world's worst.

``Vancouver has the most aggressive outbreak of HIV in injectiondrug
users in North America, probably in the world,'' said Mike
O'Shaughnessy of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIVAIDS.

``The numbers are staggering.''

One in four of the city's needledrug users have HIV.

The National Task Force on HIVAIDS, of which O'Shaughnessy is a
member, yesterday called for decriminalizing heroin and cocaine
possession as the best way of stemming the tide of death.

O'Shaughnessy said Vancouver expected needleexchange programs to deal
with the infection problem.

But he added: ``We didn't have the drug counselling, we didn't have
the aggressive treatment programs, we didn't have the housing.''

He said cocaine users are shooting up 15 to 20 times a day.

Among the task force's other recommendations:

Allow doctors to prescribe heroin and cocaine.

Enable pharmacies to sell needles over the counter.

Adopt a national plan treating addiction as a social, not a
criminal, issue.

``If we're serious about stopping this epidemic we have to look at
innovative solutions,'' O'Shaughnessy said from Ottawa.

Downtown eastside drug worker John Turvey said decriminalization is
the only solution.

Former chief coroner Vince Cain in 1994 recommended decriminalizing
heroin possession after hundreds of people died from overdoses.

``We've lost one detox facility since then in this community, and yet
our addict population has skyrocketed,'' said Turvey.

B.C. Medical Association president Dr. Derryck Smith said he's worried
about creating a worse problem by making hard drugs available through
prescription.

``It's clear what we are doing is not working,'' said Smith. ``I think
it's time we looked at new ways of dealing with this problem.''