COUNCIL SUPPORTS HARM-REDUCTION STRATEGY FOR DRUGS

Toronto has become the first city in the world to endorse the Vienna
Declaration, which advocates harm reduction over the law
enforcement-driven war on drugs.

City council voted 33-7 to sign on to the declaration, which was
unveiled last month at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna. It
calls for a more comprehensive approach to curb unsafe drug use that
leads to illness such as HIV and AIDS.

Councillor Kyle Rae, who proposed the motion after attending the
conference, said other cities are likely to take notice because
Toronto is seen as a leader in this area.

"It's about using condoms, which stops transmission of HIV and AIDS,"
Rae said. "It's about the safe crack kits so people can't transmit.
It's about the needle exchange program we've had since 1985."

Four years ago, Toronto council adopted a drug strategy that includes
harm reduction, law enforcement, education and medical support.

"I think the vote shows strong support for a declaration which really
reflects the principles encompassed in the Toronto drug strategy,"
said Dr. David McKeown, the city's medical officer of health.

"I think what the Vienna Declaration is saying is if you have an
exclusive or predominant emphasis on enforcement, there's not evidence
that it's effective," McKeown said.

"You really need to look at a range of strategies if you want to make
progress on a very challenging issue like illicit drug use."

While harm reduction could include safe drug injection sites, the
declaration doesn't require such a program and Toronto has no specific
plan to add one, Rae said.

"The declaration does include safe injection sites or consumption
rooms, and there is one in Vancouver, but it doesn't say that's what
you have to do," he said. "The key aspect of the declaration is that
far too much money has gone solely into law enforcement - the war on
drugs - and it's failed. There needs to be a fuller approach.

"We're saying: Stop the war and start doing a comprehensive approach.
We'll be able to save lives, stop the spread of HIV and hepatitis C
and give us a safer society."

The declaration was drafted by a team of international experts and
initiated by several of the world's leading HIV and drug policy
scientific bodies: the International AIDS Society, the International
Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP), and the BC Centre for
Excellence in HIV/AIDS.