SAFE DRUG INJECTION CENTRE PROPOSED FOR VICTORIA

A proposal for Victoria, along with other urban Canadian cities, to host a
safe injection centre for drug users has been raised by Canadian health
officials as a way to combat against drug-related deaths and overdoses.

Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall is working at the federal and
provincial levels of government in support of safe injection centres, which
he says have the potential to reduce many of the problems associated with
intravenous drug use.

"If we look across Canada, we see problems with overdose, death and
hepatitis C transmission," explains Kendall. "In Europe (safe injection
centres) been shown to be effective in improving public health and public
safety."

According to Kendall, there is a high rate of such drug-related problems in
Victoria.

"There was (up to) a 25 per cent increase in the prevalence rate in
Victoria over a five year period," notes Kendall. "Victoria, to my mind,
would meet the criteria for a safe injection centre."

According to Kendall, the obstacle facing the introduction of safe
injection centres is the need for a regulatory framework for such
facilities. which would, in essence, be a facility in which illegal
activity takes place. "The issue is - politically can it be done?" he says.
"The (B.C.) minister of health is supporting it and it looks optimistic."

Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe says the issue has only recently been brought to
his attention.

On whether he would support a facility for Victoria's intravenous drug
population to safely "shoot-up", Lowe said her doesn't know enough about
the issue to comment at this point.

He says, to his knowledge, the issue has come to the forefront following a
recent meeting between provincial health ministers in Newfoundland. "It
wasn't that they were targeting Victoria, they were floating around a few
cities as possibilities," says Lowe. "I think it will have to be a national
policy; it can't just focus on the east or west coast."

Lowe concedes Victoria has a problem with drug use, however, he says a more
pressing issue than safe injection centres is what he terms a need to
review the justice system.

"The issue we have to look at here is enforcement and the courts," he says.

"Drug users are out the next day and slapped with a fine. It's a revolving
door."

Lowe says a decision on whether Victoria will play host to a safe injection
centre rests in the hands of the federal government at this point, with
funding provided federally.

"I would have to have some discussion with police to determine whether safe
injection centres work," says Lowe, of the process the city would go
through if indeed it was targeted as a site for such an injection centre.

Victoria police inspector John Ducker says the number of intravenous drug
users in Victoria is of concern to police.

"We are definitely not immune," says Ducker. "We have a lot of intravenous
drug users (in Victoria) who put a great deal of strain on the police and
the health department."

Ducker says police view the introduction of safe injection sites for drug
users as "inevitable".

"The overwhelming health costs by people sharing needles means we have some
support (for a safe injection site)," says Ducker.

However, he says police would be more inclined to support a site that
offers a safe environment for medical detoxification.

"There has to be post-injection care and ongoing medical support," he says.
And Ducker says it is essential to consult with the police on the location
of such a site, if indeed one ever opens in Victoria.

"What our research indicates is it is best to diffuse the site in a wide
range of areas," he explains. "No one would want it in their area, so it
would have to be decentralized."