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Tories to shun 'safe drug' sites

Localização: 
Ottawa, ON
Canada
Publication/Source: 
National Post (Canada)
URL: 
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=4b364546-e7b8-4ed0-b165-9a1f1d9136af&k=74639

it isn't balance when opinion runs as fact

Localização: 
Vancouver, BC
Canada
Publication/Source: 
The Vancouver Sun (Canada)
URL: 
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=fad6bd9a-7c00-47aa-a549-e4e0376603c7

Politicians not helping the drug crisis

Localização: 
Australia
Publication/Source: 
Village Voice (Australia)
URL: 
http://www.villagevoice.com.au/article/20070502/NWS14/705020332/-1/nws/Politicians+not+helping+the+drug+crisis

B.C. injection site risks offending world

Localização: 
Ottawa, ON
Canada
Publication/Source: 
National Post (Canada)
URL: 
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=cea28869-f4df-4a0e-9f59-6aec8f4ad5b1&k=72741

Britain's drug policy 'not fit for purpose'

Localização: 
United Kingdom
Publication/Source: 
The Daily Telegraph (UK)
URL: 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/08/ndrug108.xml

Perry Kendall (British Columbia's Provincial Health Officer) Responds to INCB's Assertion that Supervised Injection Facilities Are in Breach of International Drug Control Treaties

Perry Kendall (British Columbia's Provincial Health Officer) sent the following to the Vancouver Sun on March 2, 2007: Subject: INCB and SIS I am writing in respect of the front page story (Friday march 2nd 2007) concerning the International Narcotic Control Board's (INCB) assertion that countries permitting supervised injection facilities are in breach of international drug control treaties. This is far from the first time this assertion has been made. It is unlikely to be the last. I write as co-chair of a federal/provincial/territorial task group that was established by ministers of health in the late 1990's to review the harms caused by injection drug use in Canada and to make recommendations on reducing those harms. The report from this task group which was delivered in 2000, recommended, among other things, that Health Canada create an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, that would permit medical, scientific trials of the impact of supervised injection sites on overdose deaths, blood borne infections and other public health problems. This task group closely examined the legal and international treaty implications of establishing supervised injection sites, as we were well aware of the position of the INCB on this matter. The legal opinions we obtained, and those of lawyers advising Health Canada were clear. If operated for medical purposes these sites would not be a breach of international treaties. Furthermore these treaties are specific in that they are not intended to curtail signatory states from devising in-country, evidence based alternative approaches to criminalisation and punishment in their attempts to deal with the problems of addiction. The INCB persists, in the face of contradictory evidence, with its position that alternative approaches breach treaty provisions and condone drug use. Fortunately, to date, this opinion has not swayed countries like Canada, Australia, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland from their position in following the evidence. It is my hope that Canada will continue to respect the science and the best evidence and not be swayed by the INCB agenda. Sincerely Perry Kendall P. R. W. Kendall, MBBS, MSc, FRCPC, OBC Provincial Health Officer Ministry of Health 4th Floor, 1515 Blanshard Street Victoria BC V8W 3C8 Phone: 250 952-1330 Fax: 250 952-1362 [email protected] http://www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/pho
Localização: 
Victoria, BC
Canada

Editorial: UN report unwittingly makes the case for prescribing drugs to addicts

Localização: 
Vancouver, BC
Canada
Publication/Source: 
The Vancouver Sun (Canada)
URL: 
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=e15f5c16-7aa5-4979-aeab-d7aea900e4cb

UN scolds Canada's injection havens

Localização: 
Canada
Publication/Source: 
National Post (Canada)
URL: 
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=65d5dafb-6572-41d3-b65d-f172124ac263&k=68797

Op-Ed: Canada must not follow the U.S. on drug policy

Localização: 
Ottawa, ON
Canada
Publication/Source: 
Ottawa Citizen
URL: 
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=a1b9fa14-8813-49ac-aed4-02cbd947ca76

Feature: New Study Rips Canadian "Tough on Drugs" Policy, Funding

Despite formally adopting harm reduction as part of a national drug strategy in 2003, the Canadian government continues to spend the vast majority of its anti-drug funds on unproven and probably counterproductive law enforcement measures, according to a study published Monday. The report was released the same day as a Vancouver Sun poll that found two-thirds of Canadians support treating drug use as a public health issue. Together, the study and the poll are a clear shot across the bow for the Conservative government of Prime Minister Steven Harper, which has promised a tough new national drug strategy with a heavy emphasis on law enforcement.

Produced by the BC Center for Excellence in AIDS, which is partially funded by the British Columbia provincial government, "Canada's 2003 renewed drug strategy -- an evidence-based review," offers a blistering critique of what its authors call the "Americanization" of Canadian drug policy. The study warns that continued reliance on such policies would be a "disaster."

https://stopthedrugwar.org/files/canada-parliament.jpg
Canadian Parliament, Ottawa (courtesy Library of Parliament)
The study found that of the $368 million the Canadian federal government spent on drug programs in 2004-05, some $271 million, or 73%, went to law enforcement measures such as Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigations, border control, and federal drug prosecutions. Another $51 million (14%) went to treatment programs, and $26 million (7%) was spent on "coordination and research," while prevention and harm reduction programs were on a starvation diet with $10 million (2.6%) each.

Canada has little to show for all that money spent on drug law enforcement, the study suggested. The report showed Canada's Drug Strategy has failed to stem the numbers of Canadians trying illicit drugs. In 1994, 28.5% of Canadians reported having consumed illicit drugs in their life; by 2004, that figure had jumped to 45%.

The proportion of federal anti-drug spending devoted to law enforcement activities has decreased from 95% in 2001 after the former Liberal government began emphasizing harm reduction and prevention in the face of criticism from the federal auditor-general and other critics. But for the authors of the study released Monday, the portion of the budget devoted to law enforcement remains unacceptably high.

"While the stated goal of Canada's Drug Strategy is to reduce harm, evidence obtained through this analysis indicates that the overwhelming emphasis continues to be on conventional enforcement-based approaches which are costly and often exacerbate, rather than reduce, harms," the report concluded.

"Current federal spending on scientifically proven initiatives which target HIV/AIDS and other serious harms is insignificant compared to the funds devoted to law enforcement," said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and one of the report's senior authors. "However, while harm-reduction interventions supported through the drug strategy are being held to an extraordinary standard of proof, those receiving the greatest proportion of funding remain under-evaluated or have already proven to be ineffective."

That comment was a direct shot at the Harper government's reluctance to reauthorize Insite, the Vancouver facility that is North America's only safe injection site for hard drug users. On September 1, when Health Minister Tony Clement gave the facility only a one-year reauthorization (it had asked for three), he publicly questioned research showing the site is effective, save lives, and does not increase drug use or crime rates in the neighborhood. More research was needed, Clement said.

That same day, the Canadian Police Association, representing rank and file officers, publicly condemned harm reduction measures. Association vice-president Tom Stamatakis told the media then that harm reduction was sucking too much money from law enforcement. "This harm-reduction focus has led to unprecedented levels of crime in our city," he said, calling for a new national strategy that focuses on treatment, prevention and enforcement.

But that is precisely what is not needed, the BC Center study found. "The proposed Americanization of the drug strategy towards entrenching a heavy-handed approach that relies on law enforcement will be a disaster," said Dr. Thomas Kerr, a study coauthor. "It is as if the federal government is willing to ignore a mountain of science to pursue an ideological agenda."

"I think it's great that this study has been released," said Donald McPherson, drug policy coordinator for the city of Vancouver. "It clearly shows that while there has been some movement since 2001, there is still not a very balanced drug strategy. This week's polling shows that the public gets it, that people understand this is primarily a health issue," he told Drug War Chronicle. "My hope is that people in the federal government will look at the evidence and eventually realize that evidence-based approaches are preferable to ideologically war on drugs-type approaches. The fact that the public gets it will help the politicians get it."

The study also won applause from New Democratic Party (NDP) Vancouver East Member of Parliament Libby Davies, who in a message to eNDProhibition, the party's anti-prohibitionist wing, said she agreed that "the Conservative government must stop relying on a law-enforcement approach to address problems associated with illegal drug use in Canada. My NDP colleagues and I have long supported a harm reduction, education, and prevention approach to illegal drug use in Canada," she added.

"Prohibitionists have never been called on to justify prohibition, and this report is saying they can't justify these policies," said Eugene Oscapella of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy. "This comes from a very credible organization, and it will help to sway public opinion," he told Drug War Chronicle. "It will resonate with Canadians in general, but I doubt it will make the Conservatives shift gears. These guys are quite willing to overlook the facts in pursuit of their ideological goals."

While Monday's Vancouver Sun poll showed only one-third of Canadians favoring tougher, law enforcement-based approaches, Oscapella noted, that one-third is the Conservative Party's base. "The Conservatives will go with their base on this, but to the extent this report educates the public, it could have an impact on the margins."

Drug War Chronicle contacted the Canadian Department of Justice for comment, but its press people referred us to Health Canada, which has not responded to the query.

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