CURE FOR DRUG WOES?

Will a proposal to give legal drug substitutes to hardcore addicts
solve Vancouver's drug problems? A majority of residents appear
willing to give the idea a try.

A new survey done for 24 hours suggests cautious support for Vancouver
Mayor Sam Sullivan's plan to prescribe synthetic drugs to some 700
Downtown Eastside addicts.

The survey, by official 24 hours pollster Strategic Communications,
showed 57 per cent of respondents thought Sullivan's Chronic Addiction
Substitution Treatment proposal could be a "good idea."

More than one-third of respondents, 35 per cent, said they didn't
support Sullivan's plan.

For Ann Livingston, a coordinator with the outspoken drug-users
advocacy group VANDU, the results are a criticism of current drug policy.

"It's an indication that the average citizen is far more progressive
than the politicians," Livingston said. "There's nothing we're doing
right now that works, so I'm happy to see some support for this."

Dave Jones, director of crime prevention with the Downtown Vancouver
Business Improvement Area, said the poll results show a change in
public attitude towards addiction.

"People are getting past their moralistic approach to this issue,"
said Jones, a retired 30-year veteran of the Vancouver police.

"I think organizations like the BIA have a very pragmatic approach
here. They're looking for something that actually works, that reduces
crime and improves people's lives. If this only siphons off a portion
of the group of addicted people that are out there, it's still better
than what's going on right now."

Strathcona BIA executive director John Van Luven said he supports the
idea, but wonders if society has the proper infrastructure in place to
deal with what is, effectively, a major shift in addiction policy,
from one of criminalization to one of health concern.

"We've been dealing with it as a criminal issue for so many decades
that I'm not sure we're ready just to deal with it strictly as a
health issue," said Van Luven, whose Strathcona neighbourhood would be
directly affected. "All of these things tend to end up with unintended
consequences, and I don't think they've thought that through yet."

Van Luven said he wants to see a full plan for the proposal. "It's
been really sketchy on detail so far," he said.

The directors behind CAST, which is currently being run as a
non-profit, hope to have a program in place by this fall. First,
they'll need a Health Canada exemption to operate either as a full
program or as a clinical trial.

The 24 hours/Stratcom poll surveyed 606 people in B.C. and is
considered accurate to within + / - four per cent, 19 times out of 20.