DRUG SITES MAY SPREAD AFTER RULING

AIDS Group Wants Victoria to Have Venue for Supervised
Injections

OTTAWA -- The federal government says it will comply with a Supreme
Court ruling Friday that Vancouver's supervised-injection site should
stay open indefinitely.

The ruling could pave the way for similar facilities around the
country.

AIDS Vancouver Island has been pushing for a supervised injection site
in Victoria as well as the return of a fixed-needle exchange -- shut
down three years ago -- as part of a network of services for people at
different stages of addiction.

Currently, clean needles are distributed in Victoria through mobile
units and distribution sites.

The ruling removes what has been a barrier to supervised-injection
sites and safe consumption sites in B.C., and bolsters ongoing talks
with the Vancouver Island Health Authority and others about opening a
supervised injection site in Victoria, said James Boxshall, acting
executive director of AIDS Vancouver Island.

"The ruling now allows those discussions to move forward; it removes
the barrier to those discussions, and I think it adds momentum to
those discussions," Boxshall said.

VIHA said in a statement: "VIHA has long recognized the potential role
of supervised consumption as one strategy in a range of approaches
that support harm reduction programs.

As such, a supervised consumption site is identified as one potential
tool in VIHA's mental-health plan.

"It's a complex issue and the Ministry of Health -- and VIHA -- will
need to take time to closely study the ruling to determine the
implication of the decision for jurisdictions outside of Vancouver's
downtown Eastside.

VIHA has faced significant challenges getting consensus and support
for a fixed-site needle exchange in Victoria, and we anticipate
support for a supervised consumption site would prove to be equally
challenging."

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the government will comply with
the Supreme Court ruling, but it will also review the decision as it
considers its options.

When asked what the court ruling could mean for other jurisdictions
that are considering opening supervised injection sites, Prime
Minister Stephen Harper said it was "premature to speculate on
consequences" of the decision.

"Obviously, it is going to lead to some changes in federal policy in
order to respect the decision," he said.

B.C. Health Minister Michael de Jong called the Supreme Court of
Canada decision "a wise and humane ruling by a unanimous bench.

"Conclusive research studies have shown that addiction is a medical
condition," de Jong said in a statement.

"Scientific evidence continually proves that Insite saves lives, is a
health benefit and poses no risk to the public."

Insite, which opened in 2003 in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside,
provides a haven for addicts to inject drugs using sterile needles
under a nurse's supervision. Insite does not provide drugs, which
instead are acquired by the users.

Harper said the federal government is "disappointed" with the
decision.

"The preference of this government in dealing with drug crime is
obviously to prosecute those who sell drugs and create drug addiction
in our population and in our youth," Harper told reporters in Quebec
City.

He added that "when it comes to treating drug addiction to try and do
so through programs of prevention and treatment rather than through
the issues that were in front of this court in terms of so called harm
reduction."