NO ABBY INJECTION SITE AFTER COURT RESULT

Better Suited for "Horrific Problem in Vancouver"

The Supreme Court of Canada's decision to back Insite could pave the
way for more supervised injection services in Vancouver itself and
elsewhere in the province and the country.

On Friday morning, Canada's top court struck down the federal
government's 2008 decision to deny Insite a special health exemption
from criminal law, which allowed the only supervised injection site in
North America to operate without legal recourse.

The judges said the Conservative government's refusal to extend the
exemption was "arbitrary," and unconstitutional because it compromised
the health and safety of drug users in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

The court's support for Insite effectively legitimizes a model that
can be replicated elsewhere, said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the
B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

The decision, however, isn't a "green light" for other communities to
open up supervised injection sites "willy nilly," he noted, explaining
that the court was careful to restrict its discussion to Insite only.
But the decision can be used by other jurisdictions to secure similar
exemptions.

The court "set a precedent," he said.

"There is a need to expand this service," Montaner said. Insite is at
capacity, and additional supervised injection sites or other "harm
reduction" measures could be implemented in the Downtown Eastside, and
elsewhere, he added.

Other communities around the province have problems with dangerous
drug use, and right now Insite is "geographically isolated," he said.

The announcement brought cheers, hugs and tears from a crowd of well
over a hundred people gathered in front of Insite on East Hastings
Street.

The crowd waited in morning darkness for the decision, which was
broadcast live from Ottawa on a screen outside the building.

There's little dispute over the effectiveness of Insite, said Dr.
Patricia Daly, vice-president, public health, and the chief medical
health officer, Vancouver Coastal Health.

Chief medical officers from Canada's 18 largest cities believe in the
evidence behind the effectiveness of Insite, Daly said.

"Some are quite interested in the outcome of this court case," she
said. "I suspect you'll see some other jurisdictions apply for
exemptions across Canada."

Other communities "have certainly been in touch with us for the last
number of years saying they would wait until this ruling to decide
what to do," said Liz Evans, the execu-tive director of the PHS
Community Services Society, which operates Insite.

Her organization will be looking at potential sites and considering
other "creative" options to expand harm reduction services, she added,
but wouldn't specify where such sites might be.

Other cities with the same "philosophical perspective" will have to go
through the same protocols as Insite to get a health exemption, Evans
said.

Other cities in B.C. weren't so quick to jump on board.

Abbotsford Mayor George Peary said while the Supreme Court ruling
vindicates the work being done at Insite, he doubts there will be a
huge movement toward injection sites around the province because the
facility is seen as specifically dealing with the "horrific problem in
Vancouver."

Even though Abbotsford has one of the highest HIV and hepatitis C
infection rates in the region, Peary said the city is more interested
in setting up a needle exchange to prevent addicts from sharing needles.

The city is working with the Fraser Health Authority to come up with
appropriate harm reduction programs, but an injection site isn't being
contemplated.

The FHA review and recommendations are expected to go to council in
January, he said.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said her city already has a needle exchange,
a detox centre and other facilities to deal with addicts, and it would
have to assess whether an injection site would be suitable in her community.

"We don't have thousands of people in a Downtown Eastside," she said,
noting that one-third of Surrey's population is under 19.

"I don't know if that would best suit that population or if it's
shooting up[wards]."