Safe-injection report allays critics' fears (Victoria News)

Safe-injection report allays critics' fears

See also: Neighbourhood improved by safe injection site: report

Supporters of bringing a supervised injection site to downtown Victoria received a shot in the arm last week from the release of a report praising a supervised injection site pilot project in Vancouver.

"I think this is just the tip of the good news iceberg," said Richard Stanwick, chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

"There was a concern that the initial good results worldwide could be successful in a North American setting. But I believe that concern has been put to rest by the report and (the facility's) success."

While data are still being gathered on the Vancouver site's success in getting intravenous drug addicts into treatment - two to four users a day were referred to treatment - the report offered strong evidence the facility, called Insite, saved lives in its first six months of existence.

From March 30 to Aug. 31, 2004, there were an average of 588 injections a day, but only 172 overdoses and no deaths.

"People are getting help immediately rather than far away from where their overdose occurs," Stanwick said. "And obviously people are accessing the service."

The report also says Insite has been able to "facilitate" health care for a client population that "may not traditionally be able to access these services," including 262 referrals to addiction counselling and 78 referrals to withdrawal programs such as detox.

For AIDS Vancouver Island executive director Miki Hansen, the success of Vancouver's pilot project is a ray of hope in the uphill battle to keep Victoria's population of IV drug users healthy.

"It is our hope that we stop having people die," she said. "That safe-injection sites help with that has been well-demonstrated."

A random survey of business near the Vancouver facility found 46 per cent in favour, 34 per cent against and 20 per cent undecided.

Stanwick said the results of the survey should take some of the raw emotion out of the debate and add an element of rationality.

"There were people who worried (Insite) would make a bad situation worse, but that hasn't happened," he said. "There will still be a lot of emotion and passion in the debate, but at least we'll have a baseline of evidence to work from."

Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe, who has voiced support for a supervised injection site here, said the success of Insite puts the onus on the shoulders of the federal and provincial governments to fund a site in Victoria.

"Obviously our council has been very positive on a safe injection site. Now we need to work with the two levels of government to see if we could be a first project for a smaller city," Lowe said.

"We don't know where the federal government is on this. For a safe injection site they would have to allow us to contravene a section of the Canada Health Act."

Stanwick pointed out that chief provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall has spoken in favour of setting up a supervised injection site in Victoria.

Such a facility would be much smaller than Vancouver's, less expensive to run and able to serve most of the IV drug population at one location, he said.