STUDY POSES THREE CRD INJECTION SITES

There's an excellent chance that a safe-consumption site in Victoria
would improve the health of the city's addict population, reduce the
spread of HIV and help at least some IV drug users kick the habit.

But none of that will happen unless the Vancouver Island Health
Authority provides a comprehensive support system of addiction
treatment and counselling services.

Those were the two main findings of a year-long study on the
feasibility of a safe-consumption site in the City of Victoria
released Tuesday.

Authored by Dr. Benedikt Fischer, the 80-page report recommends
Victoria pursue a decentralized model consisting of one large and two
smaller safe consumption sites catering to not only IV drug users,
but crystal methamphetamine and crack addicts as well.

However, Fischer's report identified "acute gaps" in available
addiction treatment services in Victoria that would have to be filled
to ensure the success of a safe consumption site.

"There's no sense in doing this if the people who want to access
addiction treatment can't get it," Fischer said. "It doesn't make any
sense to tell these people 'please come back in three months.' In
fact, it doesn't make a lot of sense to tell them to come back in 48 hours."

Fischer said the biggest gaps exist in the area of "residential and
long-term addiction care" and stressed that Victoria requires
services to address various needs.

VIHA medical health officer Dr. Murray Fyfe, expressed concern about
gaps in treatment services but said that VIHA has made efforts to
improve services.

The release of the $60,000 study -- VIHA covered $50,000 of the cost
while the city made up the difference -- sets the stage for Victoria
Mayor Alan Lowe to apply for an exemption under Section 56 of the
Controlled Drug and Substance Act, the same legal exemption that
paved the way for InSite, Vancouver's safe-consumption-site pilot project.

However, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last year his government
will not support any more safe-consumption sites until research can
show the Vancouver model is working.