VISION HESITATES ON BACKING CRACK SMOKING ROOM

Mayor Gregor Robertson and his Vision Vancouver councillors will not
state a position on whether a supervised crack cocaine smoking
facility should open in the city. Vision Coun. Kerry Jang said the
party's caucus discussed the issue but more information is required
about what prompted a recent call by research scientists for such a
facility.

Jang was referring to a study published last month in the Canadian
Medical Association Journal that revealed a spike in HIV rates among
the city's crack smokers. The researchers recommended opening a
supervised inhalation room and conducting a scientific trial to see if
HIV rates would decrease. Dr. Perry Kendall, the province's chief
medical health officer, supports the recommendation.

"Right now, our position is until we know the mechanism [through which
crack smokers are contracting HIV], there's no decision on it," Jang
said. "We've discussed it in caucus and I've discussed it with the
mayor and city manager. All of us agree, until we know the mechanism,
we can't have a position."

Researchers tracked 1,048 crack cocaine users over a nine-year period
and found that 137 became HIV positive. The reason for the increase is
not definitive. But researchers, which included the B.C. Centre for
Excellence in HIV/AIDS, said disease transmission could be attributed
to wounds produced around the mouth when smoking crack from a pipe.

Jang said if the sole goal is to reduce HIV rates among crack smokers,
an "easier solution" would be a crack pipe exchange similar to a
needle exchange. Clean kits for smoking crack and condoms would be
available and clients would have access to nurses, counsellors and
outreach workers. "You could achieve the same results without the
controversy of having a safe inhalation site," said Jang, noting he's
heard from people who oppose an inhalation room. "I heard from
Chinatown on this and they don't like it."

Jang spoke to the Courier after attending a press conference Tuesday
in which Dr. Evan Wood and colleague Dr. Thomas Kerr of the B.C.
Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS presented a wide-ranging report on
the drug situation in Vancouver. Wood also led the study that revealed
the spike in HIV rates among crack users. He repeated his call Tuesday
for a scientific trial of an inhalation room.

He pointed to research in the United States that showed a high number
of people incarcerated for cocaine offences who are not receiving
treatment. He noted the so-called "war on drugs" in the United States
and in Canada has done nothing to stem the flow of drugs. Wood
suggested he could buy drugs in less than 10 minutes of walking
outside the Carnegie Centre, the location of the press conference.

"You look at what we're seeing in Canada and Vancouver with the rise
of crack cocaine use and all the public order and social problems
associated with that...I don't think it's such a crazy thing to
advocate for a scientific evaluation of such a program."

Wood said research showed a ten-fold increase in the use of crack
cocaine in the past decade in Vancouver. Crystal methamphetamine use
has increased, particularly among street youth. Injection rates,
meanwhile, have decreased.