INSITE INJECTION SITE'S TEMPORARY REPRIEVE

No one promised that Insite would be all things to all drug users but
the controversial facility, which is North America's only legal
supervised injection site where addicts can inject drugs and connect
with health care professionals and addiction services, is making
progress helping people.

Despite that fact, the Harper government has only extended Insite's
exemption under Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
until June 30, 2008. That's a six month extension on the current
expiry of the end of the year.

Is this a health policy or the politics of delay? Politics, of
course, at the expense of people's health.

Granted, Insite is the most controversial health experiment in Canada
and, understandably, people have had reservations about it. The
scientists and health professionals knew this was not going to be a
cake walk. The folks at the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority which
runs Insite really thought outside the box on this one. It caused a
furore when it opened but as the facility inched forward and started
to yield some positive feedback it received support from a wide group
of influential people including former Vancouver mayors Philip Owen
and Senator Larry Campbell and the Vancouver City Police.

According to a new study released this spring and authored by
scientists at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Insite's
opening led to a 30 per cent increase in detoxification use by
facility users. Equally important, new findings are indicating that
Insite users who began detox were more likely to both enrol in
longer-term addiction treatment and reduce injecting. The monthly
average of injection drug users entering a withdrawal program rose
from 21.6 to 31.3 people in the evaluation period. Enrolment into
detox by Insite users led to methadone use and other addiction
treatments such as individual and group counselling, in-patient and
out-patient care and referrals for additional support as the
recovering addict progressed. Clearly the support provided by Insite
staff gave drug users the confidence to take the first step toward
saving their lives.

Earlier research publish in the New England medical Journal
"Addiction" showed that regular use of Insite and continual contact
with addiction counsellors were both strongly tied to addicts making
quicker decisions to enter detox.

"There have been many benefits of Insite in terms of public order and
reduced HIV risk," said Dr. Evan Wood, one of the study's co-authors.
"However, the fact that it appears to be pulling people out of the
cycle of addiction by leading them into programs that reduce drug use
is remarkable."

These findings specifically addressed the concerns voiced by the
federal government when it made its decision last year to reject a
long-term extension for Insite to operate legally. Instead of
granting the requested 3.5-year extension, Health Canada approved a
16-month extension which expires December 31, 2007.

"In the federal health minister's decision (in 2006) not to grant a
full extension for Insite's continuation, it was stated that it
remains unknown if the facility contributes to lowering drug use and
fighting addiction," said Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the B.C.
Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. "These findings clearly show
Insite has had a positive impact in these regards."

The federal government has been wearing blinkers when it comes to
scientific evidence that Insite is helping the lives of people in
desperate need. Their decision to only provide a six-month extension,
hardly enough time for indepth research, is unfair.

Drug addiction is a complex, difficult and confounding health problem
that requires many forms of support for recovery. Insite is a harm
reduction option that is working. Let it continue long term.