SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE FUTURE OF SAFE INJECTION SITE

The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether North America's first
supervised injection clinic for drug users can stay open, a case that
will settle a jurisdictional dispute between Ottawa and British Columbia.

The court agreed Thursday to grant leave to appeal to the federal
government to challenge two lower courts' rulings that sided with the
operators of Insite, a unique facility in Vancouver's Downtown
Eastside where drug addicts can inject their drugs using sterile
needles under a nurse's supervision.

By convention, the court did not give reasons for agreeing to consider
the case, which will likely be heard next fall or winter.

The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled in January that the Insite facility
falls under provincial jurisdiction over health care so the federal
government does not have the power to shut it down. A spokesman for
the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, which will defend its
victories in the B.C. courts, said that the Supreme Court's decision
to take on the case will put planned expansion on hold, but that in
the end it will be useful to have a final declaration from Canada's
highest court. "We've won two rounds already so we're ready for Round
3," said Dave Murray. "We're claiming this is a health issue, not a
criminal matter."

Since Insite opened in 2003, there has been overwhelming evidence of
its success in studies, reports and scientific journals, which
asserted that the facility prevents overdose deaths, limits the spread
of disease, reduces public disorder and moves more people into detox
and addiction treatment, while saving taxpayer dollars.

The clinic initially operated under a three-year Health Canada
exemption from drug trafficking and possession crimes, so that staff
and clients were safe from criminal charges.

The exemption was renewed twice, but the Harper government has
declined in recent years to continue the reprieve.

The province has kept the facility open nonetheless and clinic
operators have fought to stay in business without the exemption.