FORGET SPRING FLOWERS. WHEN THE SNOW MELTS IN THE RIVER VALLEY WE FACE
A HORRIBLE DISPLAY OF TRASH ... INCLUDING USED NEEDLES

It's a grim rite of spring in Edmonton.

As Old Man Winter finally loosens his grip on the city, the melting
snow reveals the enormous piles of garbage that's been piling up.

The discarded trash is more than a disgusting eyesore.

Some of it's a biohazard.

Every year, city cleanup crews pick up hundreds of needles cast aside
by street junkies, potentially exposing anyone who comes into contact
with them to HIV, Hep C or any of a host of other viruses.

The solution, says Marliss Taylor of Streetworks, is to give homeless,
chronic drug addicts a private, secure place to feed their habits: a
supervised safe-injection site where drug users can use clean gear
under medical supervision.

That way, she reasons, there will be far fewer of them furtively
shooting up in doorways, behind dumpsters or near playgrounds, then
casting their needles aside and scurrying away before someone catches
them.

And in the bitter cold, they're even less likely to exercise any
prudence, like using a garbage can.

"It's the same thing all across Canada," she said. "Everything that's
been done over the winter shows up now."

Streetworks operates the city's needle-exchange program, where drug
users can trade in their used needles for sterile new ones, no
questions asked.

Last year the program exchanged 600,000 needles around the
city.

Taylor estimates that her staff came into contact with 4,000 to 5,000
needle-drug users, nearly all of whom inject heroin, cocaine or both.

They're not all homeless or chronic addicts, she says.

"Many are recreational users."

Ever since North America's first experimental safe-injection site
opened in Vancouver in 2003, advocates here have been quietly lobbying
for one to be opened in Edmonton.

However, Insite, as it's known in B.C., has been embroiled in lawsuits
since 2007.

The Harper government is skeptical about its effectiveness and has
never committed to continuing its exemption from drug-use laws beyond
this June.

Two years ago advocates went to court to pre-empt any attempt to shut
it down. It's now before the B.C. Supreme Court. Until that gets
sorted out, Taylor said, any lobbying to get a site opened in Edmonton
is on hold.

Study after study of the Insite experiment has shown that the program
helps clean up the neighbourhoods around it and helps users escape the
treadmill of addiction.

Research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found
that the Vancouver site led to fewer people injecting in public places
and fewer needles and syringes being left on the ground.

It has reduced levels of petty crime, like vehicle break-ins, and
saved the health system a fortune by reducing the number of
hospitalizations from drug overdoses.

Meanwhile, Darren Grove, the city's park ranger unit supervisor, said
hundreds of needles are found in the river valley every year, but
unlike other parts of the city, spring isn't the worst time of year.

Most of the hazards are discovered when the rangers move in to clear
up homeless camps, which are pretty rare in the cold weather.

"We do a pretty good job of staying on top of it, and with last fall
being such an extended season, we had some extra time before winter
set in," he said.

While these camps are off the beaten path and pose a minimal risk to
the general public, discarded needles can turn up almost anywhere.

Grove urged anyone who comes across a needle in a park to call 311 and
report it. A ranger will be dispatched to dispose of it safely.