NAOMI'S INTERESTING TWISTS CHANGED MAYOR'S MIND ON FREE DRUG PROJECT

Mayor Sam Sullivan has reversed his belief that the city's heroin
trials should be ditched in favour of the government prescribing
drugs to addicts.

In a March 27, 2005 article in the Courier, then-councillor Sullivan
said the sooner the government dispensed heroin, the sooner crime
such as burglaries caused by addicts would decrease in Vancouver.

"Right now, we have a trial, and I understand this is a proper way to
go about this," he said in the article. "But personally, I question
why we need a trial. We know it works. It's been tried in Europe."

But in an interview Wednesday, Sullivan said he hadn't been aware of
the depth of research conducted at the North American Opiate
Medication Initiative [NAOMI] trials in the Downtown Eastside.

"When I said those things, I just thought it was a replication of
what they were doing in other areas," the mayor said. "I hadn't
realized that there were some interesting twists to the research that
could actually be useful for other jurisdictions."

The "twists," he said, were that 45 per cent of the addicts
participating in the program are given methadone, 45 per cent get
heroin and 10 per cent use an opiate called Dilaudid.

"So the NAOMI project is coming up with some interesting additions to
what has already been learned in other areas, so I see how useful it can be."

As mayor, Sullivan said last month he wants female sex trade workers
to be given drugs to manage their addictions-if all treatment options fail.

His idea coincides with the release of his statement for the RCMP on
why he gave money to two addicts to buy drugs when he was a city councillor.

Sullivan admitted to the Courier during the 2005 election campaign
that he gave the addicts money to prevent them from committing crimes
to pay for their habit.

In his statement, Sullivan wrote that former mayor Larry Campbell and
his Vision Vancouver party "made these experiences a focus of their
campaign and in particular bombarded the Chinese media with
inflammatory advertisements."

After reading Sullivan's statement, which Sullivan made available
through a public relations firm, Campbell, now a senator, pointed out
that Sullivan is "the one who talked to the media about it, I never
talked to the media about it."

Campbell, chair of the police board at the time, said he wrote to the
Solicitor General asking for guidance. Police Chief Jamie Graham
simultaneously asked the RCMP to review the case.

RCMP Cpl. Tom Seaman of the department's headquarters in Vancouver
said police expect to conclude their review before the end of the month.

Campbell said he is confused by the mayor's stance on drugs. He said
Sullivan has to be clear when making pronouncements, whether it's
about giving money to addicts or calling for the distribution of
drugs to prostitutes.

"The contradictions continually go on. Every time I bring it to
people's attention, they say I'm picking on Sam. I'm not picking on
Sam. Sam does it to himself."

Added Campbell: "Sam's the mayor. I accept that completely. But if
you're going to lead, you have to have a plan. You just can't sort of
have this vision in your eyes and then that's what's going to happen."