SAFE INJECTION SITE MAY NOT BENEFIT CITY: EXPERT

A major new study which claims safe injection sites provide immediate
public health benefits and save money doesn't necessarily apply to
Edmonton, says the city's deputy medical officer of health.

Dr. Marcia Johnson said she is interested in looking at the idea of opening
a so-called "shooting gallery" in the city - but thinks the Vancouver study
may not be applicable to Edmonton's drug scene.

"There is information that shows a site of this kind would help those who
are on drugs to take some positive steps in their lives," she said. "But we
need to make sure it's relevant in this situation."

The study, published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome,
is based on interviews with 587 addicts involved in the Vancouver injection
drug users study.

It found that addicts who faced the highest risk of contracting infectious
diseases, such as HIV, were most willing to use a safe injection site - a
fact critics have long disputed.

Dr. Michael O'Shaughnessy, director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in
HIV/AIDS, said safe injection sites perform an important public health
function by preventing syringe-sharing and overdoses, thus saving money
spent on treatment.

"At a cost of $150,000 to the taxpayer per case of HIV, we can't afford to
delay any longer in establishing these facilities," he said.

"The status quo is not an option anymore."

Johnson said she wants to work with city police and agencies such as the
needle-exchange program Streetworks to study the problem of drug addiction
in Edmonton, and investigate whether safe injection sites would help.

In February 2001, city police Chief Bob Wasylyshen endorsed a plan to set
up experimental safe injection sites for addicts.

Health Canada has already issued guidelines for how safe injection drug
sites should operate at pilot sites, likely in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.