SAFE INJECTION SITE HOT TOPIC

Talking's not good enough.

That sentiment was repeated by several community members at a public
meeting to discuss Victoria's harm reduction policy on drug use and addiction.

How much longer can we wait for people to die?" said Carol Romanow, a
board member of SOLID, the Society of Living Intravenous Drug Users
in the question period. We have a crisis. We need to act. We need to
stop talking. We need to simply start building and they will come."

During the evening's presentations, Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe
indicated that a safe injection facility may be part of the harm
reduction plan.

Five years ago harm reduction policies and safe injection sites were
the furthest thing from my mind," he said. But right now, I think
it's become one of the top priorities on our agenda."

However, when responding to an audience member's inquiry about the
likelihood and timelines for a safe injection site in Victoria, he
responded cautiously.

A safe injection site is not yet what we're looking at," he said,
noting that he liked the integrated models he saw in Europe when a
group of Victoria professionals, himself included, visited
Switzerland and Germany to check out their approaches to harm reduction.

Lowe said the European models feature a mix of services, such
services as a needle exchanges, mental health programs and housing,
as well as drug intake areas.

Wark Street resident Wayne Poohachoff applauded the Mayor's
dedication to the subject, but said the time has come for the city to
make another bold gesture" by saying they'll actually fund something."

Lowe said city council wants to take the time to get it right.

The only problem here is if we don't get it right and if we don't
have the community on board, we're going to be backtracking. We'll
have people working against us instead of working with us," he said,
noting the question of where such a facility would be built has
created anxiety in some downtown neighbourhoods.

We don't have a location at this point. We don't know if that's the
right model and at this time definitely we want to work together on
it," Lowe said.

Before the city can move ahead, Health Canada must grant an exemption
to a section of the Canada Health Act that restricts the use of hard
drugs in health care facilities.

In the meantime, the city is gathering information about harm
reduction from a variety of sources.

Victoria's manager of community development, Wendy Zink, said
Victoria has taken the so-called four-pillars" approach, which
combines prevention, treatment, housing and enforcement.

Feedback from community meetings is helping guide Victoria's goal of
keeping people alive."

Dr. Richard Stanwick, the Vancouver Island Health Authority's chief
medical officer, echoed the sentiment that the strategy is aimed
first and foremost at saving lives.

Abstinence is not as important as keeping people alive," he said.

Stanwick pointed to a report published this week indicating that
Insite, the two-year-old safe injection site in Vancouver, is
attracting users with an elevated risk of AIDS hepatitis and drug overdose.

Problems with unsafe needle disposal have also abated, the report said.

Lowe said Victoria is much different than Vancouver and that's why
the trip to Berne, Switzerland and Frankfurt, Germany was important.

When it comes to the politics of a safe injection facility, a local
suicide prevention worker said the city has to give everyone a voice.

I understand you have done a lot. But to say that it's bothering the
neighbours, you're saying that the residents of Victoria are the
people that can afford things. Some of the residents live in the
doorways of stores," she said.