LOCAL HEALTH COALITION WATCHES VANCOUVER'S DRUG EFFORTS

Frustrated over the number of addicts who continue to die of drug
overdoses, a group of concerned citizens have set up a safe drug injection
site on Vancouver's Downtown East Side.

While it could be at least April by the time that site is officially opened
to addicts wanting to shoot up in a clean, safe and supportive environment,
officials in Victoria plan on closely monitoring its progress, and that of
subsequent sites set up to handle what has become a modern urban epidemic.

"I think their effort to save lives is laudable, it's groundbreaking," says
AIDS Vancouver Island executive director Miki Hansen of what is happening
in Vancouver. "Clearly the partners in Victoria that we're working with
will be closely watching it."

The Vancouver facility, called InSite, is patterned after similar sites in
Frankfurt, Germany, and Sydney, Australia. Hansen says much information
about the Frankfurt organization, in particular, is available on-line.

One of the ingredients that makes the German operation successful, says
Hansen, is the activities of a working committee that meets weekly to keep
all stakeholders abreast of the situation. She sees such a regular meeting
of the minds as having value in Victoria. "When you do that you take care
of the bumps that come along the way."

Victoria's Downtown Action Plan, announced Jan. 31 by Victoria Mayor Alan
Lowe, Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) CEO Marilyn Rook and
Victoria police chief Paul Battershill, included the creation of a sobering
and assessment centre.

Dr. Richard Stanwick, VIHA's acting medical health officer, says such a
centre will be primarily intended to address the problems of alcohol abuse.
But he acknowledges that individuals with addictive personalities often
don't restrict themselves to just one substance, which is part of the
reason a harm reduction program for intravenous drug users is also on the
table as the inner-city health coalition moves forward in tackling downtown
Victoria's problems.

Stanwick says having some kind of treatment centre or dry-out facility
would ease the pressure on police officers, who are frequently forced to
deal with people who have overindulged.

"For those (addicts) who are acting out, clearly there is a role for the
cells. But for most of these people, the drunk tank isn't the appropriate
place for them or the appropriate use of police resources."

Victoria Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe, Victoria council's liaison for
downtown, concedes the coalition of health professionals, city officials
and police set up to enact the Downtown Action Plan have their work cut out
for them. She says they will be watching the Vancouver situation closely,
given its parallel problems to Victoria -- albeit on a much larger scale.

"We want to look at the Vancouver experience before we make any decisions
(on a safe injection site)," she says.

Last month, Thornton-Joe and fellow Victoria councillors Chris Coleman and
Dean Fortin joined Vancouver beat cops on a walkabout around Vancouver's
Downtown East Side.

"It was definitely an eye-opener," she says. "Some people I've talked to
think Victoria's problems are comparable to Vancouver, but there's no
comparison. There's no denying there's some concerns (here) but it can't be
compared to the scope of the problem there." Thornton-Joe says that in her
discussions with councillors from other municipalities during the trip, she
found that Victoria's problems are not unlike those of other cities and towns.

Stanwick says the Victoria authorities' willingness to work co-operatively
on the problems gives cause for optimism about the future. A critical
point, he says, is that the issue of addiction -- taken as a root cause of
further problems -- is ultimately being viewed as a health issue and being
framed in the proper context.

"People have to keep in mind that these people are somebody's brother or
sister or uncle," he says. "If we lose the humanity side of it, we'll lose
the downtown."