JUNKIES REJECT NEEDLE-EXCHANGE SITE AS TOO DANGEROUS

A proposed permanent needle-exchange site in Victoria has received a
thumbs down from junkies, who say the area is too dangerous and too
far from downtown.

In a July 23 letter to the Vancouver Island Health Authority's Needle
Exchange Advisory Committee, a group calling itself SOLID -- Society
for Living Intravenous Drug Users -- said a proposed site on Princess
Street was inappropriate. No address was given.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Times Colonist, said
the area is known to drug users as "extremely dangerous and violent
due to street gang activity," and any attempt at extra policing would
only scare away needle-exchange clients.

SOLID, listed as a member of the Needle Exchange Advisory Committee,
also said that the site was too far from downtown services, buildings
were badly maintained and unsuitable for a health service and current
tenants would have to be displaced.

The letter argues 941 Pandora Ave., the site of the old St. John's
Ambulance Society, is still the best site for a needle exchange.

But Shannon Turner, chairwoman of the Needle Exchange Advisory
Committee, said the Pandora Avenue location is no longer an option,
largely because of community objections.

The Vancouver Island Health Authority dropped that building from
consideration in March 2008 after an outcry from the community,
including parents and officials at St. Andrew's School on Pandora
Avenue, kitty corner to the St. John's Ambulance building.

"Given what we heard from the larger community, that [site] would be
problematic," said Turner, who serves as director of public health
for the health authority.

She would not reveal the address of the Princess Street site. But she
confirmed the existence of the letter and said the health authority
has identified one possible site for a fixed needle exchange.

Turner said a meeting with members of SOLID to address their concerns
is planned early this month.

The Needle Exchange Advisory Committee was formed in the months
following the decision to abandon the Pandora Avenue site, and
includes representatives of the business community, drug users,
social agencies, police, the city and others.

While it won't make the final decision on a needle exchange, it's
expected to provide input to the Island's chief medical health officer.

Turner said a fixed site is a missing piece from Victoria's
harm-reduction efforts for illicit drug users, which now include
mobile needle exchanges and some pharmacies. The more options for
access, the more likely people will be better served, she said.
"People will have multiple access points so access is not a barrier."

The issue of a fixed needle-exchange site has long been contentious
in Victoria.

The previous fixed exchange on Cormorant Street ran for about six
years before being evicted by its landlord in May 2008 after repeated
complaints from neighbours about discarded needles, bloody refuse,
discarded condoms and human excrement.

In June, a group calling itself Harm Reduction Victoria opened a
"guerrilla" needle exchange, handing out needles in the 900 block of
Pandora Avenue, near St. Andrew's School. The move was a violation of
a voluntary undertaking to keep needle-exchange activities away from
schools, and was condemned by many now participating on the Needle
Exchange Advisory Committee.