TOP DOC BACKS CITY DRUG PLAN

Surrey will be home to a full range of drug and alcohol treatment
facilities, if Coun. Dianne Watts can convince the provincial government
and regional health authority it's a worthwhile investment.

At the outset, Watts has the support of the Fraser Health Authority's chief
medical officer, Dr. Roland Guasparini.

He said the region needs a full complement of programs for people suffering
from addiction.

"We need these kinds of services," Guasparini told The Leader Thursday. Now
that the province has given the health authorities autonomy on how they
spend money, the time may be right to launch such initiatives, he said.
"The opportunity exists now under the health authority (which) can now say
'we have the resources, we have the responsibility and accountability for
these (services) - you have only one place to go now.'"

Neither Guasparini nor Watts could say how much the expanded services would
cost.

However, Guasparini pointed out that a budget for addiction services
already exists, and financing could be a matter of redirecting funding into
newer, more efficient areas of service.

Meanwhile Surrey council has already started a push for more comprehensive
programs by formally asking the province to decentralize the Whalley needle
exchange and replace it with other services including a syringe delivery van.

Vancouver and New Westminster run a similar program.

A mobile system would cost about $100,000 more annually that the "fixed
site" at 10667 135A St. in North Surrey, according to Jim Bennett who
operates the facility.

The problem, he says, is that the province has found the mobile system too
expensive.

"Originally when we went to the province, that was the dilemma," Bennett
said. "They didn't have the money."

Bennett is skeptical that the region will find any "extra" money in the
current fiscal climate.

"If they think they can double our budget, in a health region that's $15
million in the hole, when the Liberals are cutting back, please help us,"
Bennett said. "That's what we wanted from the beginning."

Guasparini said the regional health authority re-examined the mobile
possibility a few years ago, but dismissed it because of the costs.

But now that the Fraser Health Authority is directly responsible for the
local funding allocations, rather than the ministry of health, Guasparini
is hopeful the concept can be revisited.

He also welcomes Watts' notion of bringing a detox facility to the area.
"Absolutely," Guasparini said, adding that the more expensive stand-alone
facilities may not be the way to go. "Again, there's different kinds of detox."

Watts and Guasparini agree that the money allocated to drug treatment is
well spent.

Treating one person with HIV costs taxpayers about $100,000, which would
keep the Whalley needle exchange open for two years.

Watts points to a U.S. study that indicates for every dollar spent on the
treatment of drug addicts, seven dollars is saved in crime prevention. Add
to that an unspecified amount of money saved on health services, she says.

Watts expects to unveil more of the specifics in the coming months.