COURT TO DECIDE FUTURE OF INJECTION SITE

Federal Government Takes Insite Case To B.C. Court Of Appeal

The federal government goes to court Monday in its fight to overturn
a B.C. Supreme Court decision that allowed the city's supervised drug
injection site to operate indefinitely.

The appeal is in response to B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian
Pitfield's ruling in May 2008 that granted staff and users of Insite
on East Hastings a constitutional exemption from the country's drug laws.

The facility, which opened in September 2003 under the approval of
the former Liberal government, was scheduled to close June 30, 2008.
Pitfield ruled that a section of Canada's drug laws was
unconstitutional when applied to addicts using the injection site. He
said the facility could remain open indefinitely.

In the meantime, the federal government was to rewrite its laws to
allow for medical use of illegal drugs at Insite. The deadline is
June 30, but the government is expected to ask for an extension in
court next week. "While there is nothing to be said in favour of the
injection of controlled substances that leads to addiction, there is
much to be said against denying addicts health care services that
will ameliorate the effects of their condition," Pitfield wrote.
"Society does that for other substances such as alcohol and tobacco."

The federal government has argued the country's drug laws, or the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, are not subject to a "reading down."

The government also emphasized that Insite only operates lawfully
because of ministerial exemptions granted under section 56 of the
country's drug laws.

Conservative government politicians, particularly Tony Clement, who
was the federal health minister at the time of Pitfield's decision,
were surprised, if not incensed by the ruling.

In an August 2008 speech to the Canadian Medical Association, Clement
said Insite offered "no hope" for drug users and called it a failure
of public policy. "Insite may slow the death spiral of a deadly drug
habit, but it does not reverse it," he said. "I do not regard this as
a positive health outcome."

The PHS Community Services Society and the Vancouver Area Network of
Drug Users initiated the case against the government.

The PHS operates Insite under a contractual agreement with Vancouver
Coastal Health. The drug users' group represents the estimated 12,000
intravenous drug users in Vancouver.

Several peer-reviewed studies published in international medical
journals concluded Insite is reducing the spread of infectious
disease and leading some addicts to counselling, treatment and
housing. No one has died of a drug overdose at the facility, which
has recorded more than 1.2 million injections.

Since the fall of 2007, staff has referred users to Onsite, a detox
centre occupying two floors above Insite. It has a total of 30 beds
and includes health care and counselling. It costs $1 million
annually to operate.

Insite, which costs $2.8 million a year to operate, opened in
September 2003 as a three-year scientific experiment. The
Conservative government extended the operating licence twice before
Pitfield ruled last year to keep it open. Insite is the only legal
injection site in North America.