Vancouver’s supervised injection facility challenges Canada’s drug laws

Harm reduction for injection drug users started with community-based programs to provide clean needles and has grown to include supervised injection facilities. Such services have existed for several years in Australia and Europe.1 In 2003, North America’s first sanctioned supervised injection facility, Insite, was opened in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia. To permit the facility to open, the then Canadian Liberal government exempted Insite from some provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act relating to trafficking.

Read the rest of this entry »

Supervised Injection Facilities N412 - Final Revision

The aim of this paper was to review the literature that explores the effectiveness of harm reduction strategies, specifically supervised injection facilities (SIF). The rates of Hepatitis C (HVC) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have reached startling proportions. In Canada, the realities of illicit drug use have been acknowledged and harm reduction strategies implemented, including North Americas first supervised injection facility (SIF) in 2003, Vancouvers InSite. Given the overwhelming statistics of the prevalence rates of HCV and HIV among intravenous drug users (IDU) within British Columbia, the effectiveness of supervised injection facilities as a harm reduction approach requires investigation.

Distributing safer crack use kits in Canada

A number of public health departments and community organizations in Canada distribute safer crack use kits to people who use crack cocaine. The kits typically include mouthpieces, glass stems and screens, as well as condoms and referral information for other health and support services. This document outlines why such health programs are needed and answers a number of legal questions related to the distribution of safer crack use kits.

Download

Harm-reduction advocates say need-exchange efforts have lost ground

From the ground up : Vancouver’s Supervised Injection Site’s Role in Accessing Treatment and Care

Canada has long been regarded as a global leader in health care delivery and innovation. Since September 2003, Insite, North America’s first Supervised Injection Site, has kept that tradition alive by offering care to some of Vancouver’s more than 12,000 injection drug users. Health care providers from around the world are looking to Vancouver as a model for how to treat and care for people with chronic addiction and complex health issues.

Download

Conservatives in Canada hold harm reduction scientific research in contempt

The recent British Columbia Court of Appeal decision that has allowed Vancouver’s supervised injecting facility for illicit drug users, known as Insite, to remain open is a victory for the scientific research, the people who use this health-care facility and all Canadians who are concerned about reducing the harms associated with drugs in our society.

Read the rest of this entry »

B.C. court rules Vancouver’s Insite safe injection site can stay open

Vanouver — The B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed a federal government appeal, which means InSite, the Vancouver supervised safe-injection site that was the first of its kind in Canada, will remain open.

The federal government is expected to appeal Friday’s split 2-1 ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson reacted by saying he strongly supports the ruling and the continued operation of InSite to improve the lives of drug addicts.

Read the rest of this entry »

Heroin use rises, spread feared Experts lament injection-drug increasein Canada

recent surge in the number of inner-city drug users injecting heroin has addiction experts worried the powerful opiate could spread on the streets of Winnipeg.

Until now, heroin abuse was virtually unheard of in Manitoba. The worrisome trend coincides with a rise in injection-drug use in Winnipeg’s core — a phenomenon that surfaced in the past few months and puts more drug users at higher risk of overdose and infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C.

Read the rest of this entry »

Heroin Maintenance: SALOME Trials Set to Begin in Vancouver

In the Chronicle’s review of the top international drug policy stories of the year last week, the slow spread of heroin maintenance was in the mix. This week, it’s back in the news, with word that a new Canadian heroin maintenance study in Vancouver is about to get underway.The Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness (SALOME) will choose a Downtown Eastside location next month and begin taking applications from potential participants in February, according to a Tuesday press release from the Inner Change Foundation, which, along with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is funding the trial. With selection of participants supposed to last only three weeks, that means SALOME could be underway by March.

Read the rest of this entry »

Drug Situation in Vancouver

Health policies are increasingly being driven by the best available scientific data. However, there remain critical areas in public health where the gap between best evidence and public policies persists, and few areas suffer from this concern more than society’s response to the problems posed by illicit drug use. This gap between research and practice is problematic, as an effective response to the health and community harms posed by illicit drug use will require the development of policies guided by the best available scientific evidence.

Download