INSITE RULING A VICTORY FOR BETTER CARE

It was great news Friday when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in
favour of Vancouver's Insite drug injection clinic. In a unanimous
decision, the court ruled that not allowing the clinic to operate
under the umbrella of a federal exemption is a violation of the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The infringement at stake (of not granting an exemption) is serious,"
wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin in the ruling. "It threatens
the health, indeed the lives, of the claimants and others like them.
The grave consequences that might result from a lapse in the current
constitutional exemption for Insite cannot be ignored."

The feds would dearly like to ignore it. But the Supreme Court has
ordered the federal minister of health to grant an immediate
exemption to Insite under clause S.56 of the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act (CDSA), thus allowing Insite to operate.

So it should.

Insite saves lives," said McLachlin. "Its benefits have been proven.
There has been no discernible negative impact on the public safety
and health objectives of Canada during its eight years of operation."

Insite opened in September 2003 originally had a three-year exemption
from Section 56 of the CDSA for scientific and research purposes.
Exemptions were extended until the feds tried to block the process
leading to the Supreme Court finale.

Insite is in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, home for more than one
third of the estimated 12,000 injection drug users living in the city.

The facility's 12 injection booths provide a safe place for drug
users to inject pre-obtained drugs using clean syringes and equipment
under the supervision of nurses and health care staff.

Addiction counsellors, doctors, and health care staff provide ongoing
support for clients with addiction, mental health or HIV/AIDS issues.
It's a cross road where clients can try to explore a new life a chance.

The stats back it up. Since first opening, Insite has had more than
1.8 million visits. Last year alone there were 312,214 visits by
12,236 individuals. Daily visits averaged some 855 individuals with
an average of 587 daily injections. Twenty-six per cent were women;
17 per cent were Aboriginal and the principal substances were heroin
(36 per cent), cocaine (32 per cent) and morphine (12 per cent). Last
year saw 458 admissions from Insite into Onsite, the adjoining detox
treatment facility which recorded a program completion rate of 43 per cent.

More than 30 research studies into aspects of addiction and
treatments have been published in peer-reviewed journals around the
world, all concluding that Insite saves lives and is a health
benefit. The research is clear that addiction is, first and foremost,
a health issue before any legal issue surfaces. The latest article in
the prestigious Lancet showed that drug overdoses decreased 35 per
cent within 500 metres of Insite compared to 9 per cent elsewhere in Vancouver.

This represents a victory for science," said Dr. Julio Montaner,
director of the BC Centre for Excellence for HIV/AIDS. "Prior
attempts from the federal government to stop the activities of Insite
have been ruled unconstitutional. We are thankful for the unwavering
support from the provincial government that has allowed us to set an
example for how to deal with addiction which is a medical condition."

The decision by the Supreme Court is a watershed moment for drug
addiction policy. The conservative government has always been against
Insite. But there needs to be a cultural shift in Ottawa to
understand that drug addiction needs health care, not law enforcement.

Instead of wasting tax dollars on more prisons, lawyers, and jail
terms, the money should be used for health care initiatives and a
coming together of harm reduction and prevention approaches.