EIGHT OUT OF 10 DOCTORS AGREE WITH SITES

Canadian doctors overwhelmingly support public funding of safe
drug-injection sites, including a Vancouver clinic roundly condemned
by former health minister Tony Clement.

Of 540 physicians surveyed by the Canadian Medical Association, 78%
agree or strongly agree "harm-reduction strategies, including
safe-injection sites, should be part of a publicly funded strategy to
treat addiction."

The remaining 22% disagree, the CMA said. The electronic survey is
considered accurate to plus or minus four percentage points, 19 times
out of 20.

The doctors' endorsement adds support to Vancouver's controversial
Insite safe-injection site, which has operated since 2003. The first
legal supervised injection centre in North America, it provides a
secure location and clean needles for drug addicts, as well as access
to medical treatment and other social services.

The project is meant to reduce both overdose deaths and transmission
of blood-borne disease among those who share needles. Insite's
supporters hope it will also encourage users to seek treatment. The
clinic is part of a broader-based approach to drugs called "harm reduction."

During the summer, Clement argued Insite "undercuts the ethic of
medical practice" and is an example "not of health care for the
living, but palliative care for the slowly dying.

"(Addicts) need our help and our intervention, not a place to shoot
up," he said.

'PREVENTION'

New federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq wasn't available for
comment yesterday. Her spokeswoman, Josee Bellemare, said the
government "focuses on prevention and treatment for those addicted to
drugs" and added the federal government "has provided $10 million to
open a 20-bed treatment facility for female sex workers in
Vancouver's downtown eastside."

While the doctors strongly back Insite, Canadians in general are more
muted. An August survey by Angus Reid Strategies found 38% of
Canadians supported Insite, while 23% opposed it. About four in 10
were undecided.

The same poll noted while 5% felt "harm reduction" should be the
primary approach to tackling drug addiction, 45% preferred policy
makers concentrate on education and prevention. About 44% felt both
approaches should be used.

Backing for the clinic was stronger among the public in Vancouver
itself, Angus Reid found in a survey in May, with 57% of residents
polled endorsing Insite.