POLICE DECRY GROUP HANDING OUT NEEDLES

A group handing out needles to addicts near an elementary school in
downtown Victoria is discrediting the agency behind it, Victoria police say.

Police spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton also said the needle exchange
group, launched by Harm Reduction Victoria, shows a lack of common sense.

Still, Hamilton admitted the group isn't breaking the law.

"We can't prevent them from handing out needles, but obviously we'd
encourage them to consider the neighbourhood and the concerns of
residents who live there," he said, noting police have received
several complaints and continue to actively monitor the area.

"Common sense tells us handing out needles within a block of an
elementary school probably isn't the best way to get your message across."

The zone is classified as a "no-go zone" and is part of a code of
conduct developed for the mobile-delivery system that has distributed
needles since a fixed site in the city closed in June 2008. The code
states no needles will be handed out near schools, daycare centres or
open businesses, and it promises cleanup efforts will be made.

But Harm Reduction Victoria has been ignoring the code since Sunday
- -- when it held a protest marking one year since the fixed site
closed -- and is unrepentant.

Asked whether the group's actions are undermining its credibility and
message, spokeswoman Kim Toombs would only say "there's no one
speaking to the issues faced by those who use drugs."

The group handed out 600 needles on Sunday and 300 on Monday.

Toombs said the lack of a fixed needle exchange has left the
marginalized and socially isolated drug-using community with few
places to turn. And it's also shifted focus away from the myriad of
issues facing many drug users.