Posted on 09/21/2004 7:31:24 PM PDT by FairOpinion
VANCOUVER (CP) - If Health Canada agrees, Vancouver crack addicts could have a safe place to inhale their drugs within the city's pioneer safe injection site.
Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell told reporters Tuesday he wants to make an application to the federal Health Ministry "as soon as possible" to allow for a crack cocaine safe smoking site. "It makes perfect sense," he told reporters, adding that European cities already have similar programs in place.
His remarks came near the one year anniversary the city's safe injection pilot project, the first of its kind in North America.
Based on a harm reduction approach, the three year pilot project follows the lead of similar sites in Australia and Europe, providing drug addicts with clean needles and a safe place to use them, as well as medical services and referrals.
Critics of the controversial project say it is a burden on tax payers and condones illegal drug use. = But supporters say it has saved lives, cleaned up the streets and brought hundreds of marginalized people back into the health system.
Now Campbell says it's time to investigate the possibility of adding a similar project for the city's crack-cocaine users. He says all the specialized equipment that is needed, including fans, have already been installed in the current safe-injection facility. Specialized staff and more resources would be necessary, he added.
But Clay Adams, spokesman for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, says getting a safe smoking site approved won't be easy.
"One of the problems with the safe inhalation room right now is we're not 100 per cent sure that everybody's on board with the concept," he said, adding the application procedure would involve months of paper work and consultation with stakeholders.
To be approved, he says the project would have to have medical benefits for its users.
"It's not to provide a safe haven for somebody to smoke crack-cocaine," he said.
"It would be to provide an environment where they've got safe pipes, safe mouth pieces, those kind of things."
Last month, a support group for crack cocaine users announced it wanted the government to establish a safe inhalation site, saying the site would make the streets safer and stop the transmission of diseases like HIV (news - web sites) and hepatitis through mouthpieces.
Adams said the project would have to be monitored like the current safe injection site "to see if it has a positive impact on any sort of disease transmission."
He said an evaluation on the safe-injection site's first year of operation will be released Thursday.
"So far indications are that it's actually doing very well," Adams said. He said about 600 people use the site daily and up to four referrals are made for services like detox and and methadone treatment.
"Early indications we have from the evaluators are that the site is saving lives, is making an impact, and that's why we went into this in the first place," he said.
:::shaking head in disbelief :::
Vancouver will gets what it deserves.
That sounds GREAT! Then ALL of our crack-heads and heroin addicts can all go up north to canada and foul their streets.
I say we encourage the canuks and give away plane, train, & bus tickets to anyone who wants to go --- one-way only!
How can anyone smoke crack without naked women walking around?
As a Canadian I am appalled. On one hand I don't believe drug use should be criminalized. However Canada has gone too far in using my tax money to support junkies. The problem is that everyone - including doctors - are on board with this. Whatever happened to tough love?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.