"It would be difficult to assert that, in establishing drug-injection rooms, it is the intent of Parties to actually incite to or induce the illicit use of drugs, or even more so, to associate with, aid, abet or facilitate the possession of drugs.[...] On the contrary, it seems clear that in such cases the intention of governments is to provide healthier conditions for IV drug abusers, thereby reducing their risk of infection with grave transmittable diseases and, at least in some cases, reaching out to them with counselling and other therapeutic options. Albeit how insufficient this may look from a demand reduction point of view, it would still fall far from the intent of committing an offence as foreseen in the 1988 Convention."

United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime Legal Opinion that Harm Reduction Measures Do Not Violate UN Treaties - Prepared for the Internation Narcotics Control Board 2002

2. Sensible Solutions to Urban Drug Problems

The war on drugs is lost and prohibition has been a complete failure. These are the conclusions of this Fraser Institute series of papers, Sensible Solutions to the Urban Drug Problem. The authors suggest a wide range of options to this failed war, from harm reduction and medicalization, through to the decriminalization or legalization of drugs from marijuana to heroin.

Fraser Institute Publications, August 2001

3. Effectiveness of Needle and Syringe Programming in Reducing HIV/AIDS among Injecting Drug Users

Provides evidence for the effectiveness of selected key interventions in preventing HIV transmission among injecting drug users. The interventions reviewed range from providing information and sterile injecting equipment to the impact of drug dependence treatment on HIV prevention.

World Health Organization, 2006

4. A Cultural Impact of Needle Exchange

Examines one way in which needle-exchange services in the San Francisco Bay have affected needle-sharing and sexual-risk behaviors for injections drug users.

Contemporary Drug Problems; Fall 2001

5. A Framework for Action

Vancouver's four-pillar approach to solving the City's drug problems.

City of Vancouver; November 2000

6. Is there a legal duty to establish safe injection facilities in British Columbia?

This paper argues that the governments' inaction with respect to safe injection facilities constitutes actionable negligence.

Craig Jones LL.M.; 2001

7. Illness and Addiction

This essay examines the ways we collectively assign meaning to certain people who struggle with both mental illness and/or addiction. It also looks at how the differences in how these meanings are constructed have hindered our approaches to providing help, to the detriment of the people with addiction. Finally, it describes how the new supervised injection site and the values represented by this approach, reflect an emerging set of meanings and approaches that is ultimately more hopeful.

Dan Small, PhD; Visions: BC's Mental Health and Addictions Journal, Vol.2 No.1 Winter 2004

8. Addiction, secret lives and lost personhood

This article ex­plores the process of stig­matization at the heart of our understandings of ad­diction and its inevitable outcome: the production of suffering for people who are relegated to the cultural shadows of life.

R. Dan Small, PhD; Visions Journal: Vol.2 No.6, 2005

9. Canada's 2003 renewed drug strategy -- an evidence-based review

About three-quarters of the resources of Canada's Drug Strategy are directed towards enforcement-related efforts, despite a lack of scientific evidence to support this approach and little, if any, evaluation of the impacts of this investment. In this feature article, Kora DeBeck, Evan Wood, Julio Montaner and Thomas Kerr report on a study that examined expenditures and activities related to the Drug Strategy as renewed in 2003. The article reviews the effectiveness of the Strategy in light of current scientific evidence pertaining to the reduction of drug-related harm.

Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network HIV/AIDS Policy Law Review: Vol.10 No.2/3, 2006

10. Science and Ideology - A Call for Action

The fact that the treatment of substance abuse appears to have been judged by an entirely different standard than the treatment of other common conditions, such as diabetes, suggests that ideology and politics have trumped science.

Stephen W. Hwang, MD, MPH, Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto: 2007

11. Closed to Reason: The International Narcotics Control Board and HIV/AIDS

The United Nations system as a whole is committed to reducing HIV among people who inject drugs, to safeguarding the human rights of people who use drugs, and to increasing accountability and civil society involvement. In this context, the INCB is an anomaly: a closed body, accountable to no one, that focuses on drug control at the expense of public health and that urges national governments to do the same.

Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network: March 2007

12. Effectiveness of Sterile Needle and Syringe Programming in Reducing HIV/AIDS Among Injection Drug Users

This publication aims to make the evidence for the effectiveness of selected key interventions in preventing HIV transmission among injecting drug users accessible to a policy-making and programming audience. The interventions reviewed range from providing information and sterile injecting equipment to the impact of drug dependence treatment on HIV prevention.

World Health Organisation 2004

13. United Nations Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS

"the prevention of HIV infection must be the mainstay of national, regional and international responses to the pandemic, and therefore commit ourselves to intensifying efforts to ensure that a wide range of prevention programmes that take account of local circumstances, ethics and cultural values is available in all countries, particularly the most affected countries, including information, education and communication, in languages most understood by communities and respectful of cultures, aimed at reducing risk-taking behaviours and encouraging responsible sexual behaviour, including abstinence and fidelity; expanded access to essential commodities, including male and female condoms and sterile injecting equipment; harm-reduction efforts related to drug use; expanded access to voluntary and confidential counselling and testing; safe blood supplies; and early and effective treatment of sexually transmitted infections;"

87th Plenary Meeting, United Nations General Assembly 2 June 2006

14. Tony Trimmingham

Damien died unnecessarily of a heroin overdose. His father, Tony Trimmingham, campaigned for the establishment of a Supervised Injection Facility in the King's Cross neighbourhood of Sydney Australia. If the facility had been open when Damien was alive, he would still be with us today. Follow the link above to hear Tony's story posted on YouTube.

15. Closed to reason: time for accountability for the International Narcotic Control Board

For more than two decades, the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) has tried to stop harm reduction and its HIV prevention programs. This posture is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of their responsibilities and of drug addiction itself - i.e. as a public health and clinical care matter made criminal by decree. A recent focal point for the Board's action has been rejecting the use of supervised injection facilities to reduce morbidity and mortality of drug injectors. They single out individual countries and attempt to bully them into rejecting such programs under the banner of the United Nations (falsely) and in the name of international treaties.

Dan Small and Ernest Drucker, Harm Reduction Journal May 8, 2007

info@communityinsite.ca

Email the Prime Minister

Enter your name and your email address and this message will be sent to the Insite for Community Safety and then forwarded to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Edit the message if you have your own points, or simply click the send button and the message will go as it is written in the pop up window.

Click here for the letter.

Mayor Sullivan supported Vancouver's Supervised Injection Site first as a City Councillor, recognizing the tragic consequences of drug addiction facing the city. Now as Mayor, Sam Sullivan continues to support a pragmatic approach to minimizing drug-related harm to individuals and communities.

"If there's a good reason not to vote for me, that's it," "I am appalled with myself. There are 1,200 dead junkies on my watch. I'm very ashamed."
November 7, 2002 (read more)

"On behalf of the City of Vancouver, I would like to express my support for the Vancouver Coastal Health application [...] for extension of the current Section 56 exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the purpose of continuing the Supervised Injection Site pilot project that is underway here in Vancouver."
April 11, 2006 (read more)

"We strongly believe that [Vancouver's Supervised Injection Site] plays an important role in not only reducing harm to those who are drug addicted, but also reducing harm and costs to our communities,"
September 1, 2006(read more)

"The bottom line is that Insite is part of the solution in Vancouver - not part of the problem,"
May 9, 2008(read more)

***

Gordon Campbell
British Columbia Premier
Former Vancouver Mayor

"We think [Vancouver's Supervised Injection Site] is a positive step, and we believe it should continue. We have let the federal government know that," Globe and Mail-August 16, 2006(read more)

***

George Abbott
British Columbia Minister of Health

"I'd say that I'm quite encouraged by the results that we have seen to date from the supervised injection site. We have a range of information. Actually, it's very interesting information [...] there are a lot of interesting results that have come out of that work to date. By and large, the results are of an encouraging nature, so I'm certainly supportive of that continuing." - BC Legislative Assembly-May 10, 2006
(read more)

***

David Emerson
Canada's Minister for International Trade
Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Kingsway

"I am an advocate of some of those things which have been proven to be successful and can pass rigorous tests in terms of whether it is good use of taxpayers' money," - Emerson wants safe-injection site to remain open, Globe and Mail, July 23, 2006
(read more)

***

Philip Owen
Former Vancouver Mayor

"After traveling to five international drug policy conferences and talking with experts from Europe, Afghanistan, Australia and South America, I know safe injection sites are a huge success. They all say, "We wish we'd done it sooner and had more." There are over 45 cities with 85 safe injection sites with a proven track record over 15 years of improving public health and public safety."

***

Larry Campbell
Senator, former Mayor of Vancouver and Chief Coroner for British Columbia

"[Insite] has surpassed all expectations we had. We've seen a [positive] difference in the number of people injecting in the street. We've seen a change in the [Downtown Eastside] street-scape. We've seen a drop [in the area] in HIV and hep C. Those are major changes, but they are very preliminary. I hope they [can] continue."

***

Jamie H. Graham
Chief Constable, City of Vancouver Police Department

"My staff has been working on the front-line with the VCHA to ensure that both enforcement and health related goals are addressed in this project. We plan on continuing in the spirit of cooperation to create a more safe and healthy community." (read more)

***

Penny Ballem, MD
Former BC Deputy Minister of Health

"The VCH has been working with our government and community partners to address the social, economic and human impacts of addiction. This project is an effective part of the harm reduction strategy of Downtown Eastside and should be continued." (read more)

***

Alan Lowe
Mayor of Victoria

"I feel three years is insufficient time to establish the broader strategy of prevention, outreach, treatment and rehabilitation, research, surveillance, knowledge dissemination and national leadership and coordination. I believe an extension of the section 56 exemption would allow the Vancouver SIS to continue to research effective strategies to reducing communicable diseases, serious medical complications associated with injection drug use, as well as limiting public consumption of drugs and improving public order." (read more)

***

Samuel Chan
CEO, Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver

"Since the establishment of the SIF, the public spaces of Chinatown and the surrounding communities have shown a marked improvement. The supervised injection facility has reduced public disorder dramatically and help people living with addiction by making it safer for them and their communities. I feel the capacity of the program should be expanded..."(read more)

***

Kenneth Kwan
Chairman, S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

"I believe that a good continuum of care strategy, which includes the Supervised Injection Facility as a means, will eventually yield tremendous benefit to the individuals and the community, economically, socially and in health." (read more)

***

Noam Chomsky
MIT

"Though I cannot claim any special expert knowledge in this area, my understanding is that [Insite] has been a highly successful program, dealing effectively with the very serious problems of addiction and its harmful effects on the individuals and on society in general. I would like to join those who are urging that their request be granted."

***

William Booth
Executive Director
AIDS Vancouver

"As Executive Director of one of Canada's oldest AIDS service organizations, it is of utmost concern that the harm reduction initiatives provided by the Supervised Injection Facility continue. This facility plays a fundamental role in preventing the spread of HIV." (read more)

***

Albert Fok
Chair, Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association

"As an individual who has been involved in community work for over a decade; and as a property and business owner, please allow me to state my opinion that the benefits of [Insite] have been demonstrated throughout Vancouver's Downtown Eastside community." (read more)

***

Editorial Board

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other Conservatives have expressed reservations about Insite, but the feds maintain that they will look at the evidence before making any decision. If they do they will find that it resoundingly supports continuation of the facility." (read more)

***

Paul Lewand
Chairperson, BC Persons With AIDS Society

"We at BCPWA know - some of us from direct personal experience - that the Insite Supervised Injection Facility works. And it works in a realm and with a population in and with which almost nothing else does. Without renewal of the CDSA exemption, and of the financial support previously extended, by the federal Government, Insite will close. Plain and simple. And that would be a very great tragedy." (read more)

***

Colleen Hua
National President, Chinese Canadian National Council

"The Supervised Injection Facility in Vancouver has demonstrated its abilities to bring stability and encourage redevelopment in the Chinatown/Strathcona neighbourhood. CCNC supports the special exemption as a human rights issue. While we do not encourage drug use, we understand that drug users should be given the safer option to carry out injection with clean needles under the supervision of health professionals. This allows medical emergencies to be attended to in a timely fashion in a clean and safe environment and helps to prevent and slow down the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS." (read more)

***

Dr. Alex Wodak
Director, Alcohol and Drug Service
St. Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, Australia

"The Supervised Injection Facility in Vancouver has been established with great care and thoughtfulness. Even more important, it has been subjected to intense scientific scrutiny and evaluation, resulting in the publication of 20 scientific papers in prestigious journals. I have read almost all of these papers. They demonstrate that there have been substantial benefits from the Supervised Injection Facility and no serious unintended negative consequences."(read more)

***

Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes (PhD)
Addiction Researcher
Andalusian School of Public Health

Manuel Romero-Vallecillos
Addiction field work coordinator
20 years working in social intervention
Andalusian School of Public Health

Joan-Carles March (PhD)
Proffesor
Principal Investigator of the Andalusian heroin prescription programe
Andalusian School of Public Health

Emilio Perea-Milla (PhD)
Epidemiologist
Chief of Research Departement
Costa del Sol Hospital

"Canada is a model society as regards public health policies, and many of us consider your country a reference point and an example to follow. Despite the political difficulties involved in such initiatives, Canada has put into practice daring, innovative projects in North America, such as the heroin prescription trial in Montreal and Vancouver, and the SIF in Vancouver, which reveal your country's sympathy towards those who have lost everything and who are ignored by many." (read more)

***

Brent C. Olson
Recovering addict

"I believe that the Vancouver Supervised Injection Site should remain open. Myself, I am one week shy of 10 months clean & sober, and have a lot of gratitude for the insite, as I had been injecting in alley ways and peoples bathrooms etc. I'm almost 100% sure I would not be here to write this letter."

***

Professor Ernest Drucker
Montefiore Medical School, New York, NY

"With its well-documented success, InSite is becoming a beacon - a workable model for municipalities all over the world, many of which are now adapting it to their own needs."(read more)

***

Nichola Hall
Grief to Action: Association of families and friends of drug users

"Every addicted person is someone's son or daughter. As a parent I am grateful that Vancouver cares enough to give our children somewhere safe to inject, so that they can stay alive long enough to access the health care system when they are ready."

***

Caitlin Johnston
Co-Chair Asian Society for the Intervention of AIDS (ASIA)

"ASIA supports without reservation Insite, the pilot project providing safe injection facilities. The work that Insite is undertaking in the area of drug use treatment, prevention, and harm reduction can only offer positive solutions to a community that is in need of new innovative solutions to problems presented by drug use." (read more)

***

Dr. Ronald Joe, MD

"In my work visiting the most vulnerable of people, struggling to live a hopeful life in their tiny hotel rooms in the inner city, I have come to understand that we must, whether we are policy makers or clinicians, meet people where they are today and not where we would want them to be. The supervised injection facility does not "give in to addiction" in any way; it is a social investment in the most vulnerable. This program creates an opportunity for people to be on the threshold of a successful life, by keeping them alive another day." (read more)

***

Barry L. Beyerstein, Ph.D.
Professor of Biological Psychology, Simon Fraser University

"There are no panaceas for societies' drug-related ills, only what the drug policy expert Prof. Arnold Trebach calls "second-order solutions," ones that will help turn a disaster back into a problem. Vancouver's Safe Injection Facility has proven that it can be an effective arm of such a solution. Not only are the drug users better off as a result, we in the rest of the community reap tangible benefits as well." (read more)

***

The Members of the Australian Parliamentary Group for Drug Law Reform

"We offer our strong support for the continuation of the Vancouver Injecting
Facility, noting that the community, families and drug users require our
active, practical, compassionate support." (read more)

***

Sid Chow Tan, President
ACCESS Association of Chinese Canadians

"Research has shown that this facility is invaluable for the renewal of the surrounding neighborhoods, including Downtown Eastside, Chinatown and Gastown in Vancouver. As well, it is also a cost effective wat to prevent drug overdoses, the spread of disease and unnecessary death and suffering."(read more)

***

Thia Walter, Downtown Eastside Organiser and Mother

"My dear son is still lost to his addiction, still homeless and hungry most of the time. I
don't know if he will ever be free of this terrible affliction but I do know that if he
continues to have access to clean equipment and non-judgmental medical care he may
live long enough to keep trying.

The public here has seen and knows what other citizens in other countries have proven
for years. Supervised Injection Sites are the first steps in treating a problem that can be controlled and with God's guidance will one day be cured." (read more)

***

Dr. Penny Gurstein
Professor, School of Community and Regional Planning and Centre for Human Settlements, UBC

"the research has demonsrated that there has been no increase in crime, public disorder, littering and drug dealing near or in the facility resulting in no negative impact on the community. In fact, all measures of public disorder have declined..."(read more)

***

Dr. Martin T. Schechter
Professor and Head
Canada Research Chair in HIV/AIDS and Urban Population Health

"The evidence is now clear that safe injection facilities offer an important avenue to prevent the most devastating consequences of injection drug use, namely lethal infections such as HIV and death. Because these facilities are utilized by the most difficult-to-reach individuals, they provide a critical window of opportunity that might not exist otherwise to bring such people into contact with preventions and treatments."(read more)

***

Pastor Dean Davey
Friendship Baptist Church

"In serving as clergy in the Greater Vancouver area the past 14 years, and overseeing teams who feed and clothe the homeless of Vancouver Eastside once a week for the past eight years, I have witnessed the need for a credible facility where people can inject in a safe environment. It is truly heart breaking to see people openly injecting drugs in alleys and dumpsters and something needs to be done. I am very concerned about addiction issues overal that I commonly must deal with as a Senior Pastor. I am convinced that the only way forward is through a compassionate approach that engages people who struggle daily with their addictions. For the people living in the Eastside, the supervised injection site is a program that in many ways embodies this compassion."(read more)

***

Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network
Canadian AIDS Society
Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange
Canadian HIV/AIDS Information Centre, Canadian Public Health Association
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Canadian HIV Trials Network
Canadian Treatment Action Council
Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation
Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development

"Discontinuing this remarkable service would be a step backward for Canada's response to HIV/AIDS. Insite has proved that supervised injection facilities are effective and essential in fighting HIV/AIDS, minimizing the harms of drug use, and fulfilling the right to health of some of the community's most disadvantaged people."(read more)

***

Dr. Gabor Mate

"The SIS is a link--for some their only link-- between their street lives and the health care system and, for many, it is one of the first institutions they have encountered where they feel treated in a supportive, humane way. For the physically and emotionally wounded people they are, that is no small matter." (read more)

***

George Chow
Vancouver City Councillor

"As past President of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver and current City Councillor, I am keenly aware of the debates surrounding the establishment of the SIF. However after three years, I am please to say that the intitial fears of the community - re potential increase in crime and public disorder - have not materialized. In fact, with the help of health professionals and the Vancouver Police, the SIF has brought about a decrease in overdose deaths, public injection and discarded syringes, as well as other community benefits such as disease prevention and treatment referral."(read more)

***

Henry Davis, Ph.D

"As a social experiment, the Supervised Injection Facility has been a resounding success. Since its inception, it has been subject to intense scrutiny from medical and law enforcement professionals, as well as from local businessmen and politicians, the media and the general public. There is almost totally unanimity from these diverse perspectives that the facility has met its objectives - to decrease death, disease, crime and human misery in Canada's poorest neighbourhood. At the same time, it has saved government and social service agencies in terms of time, money, and human resources. There are no negative side effects." (read more)

***

Pierre J. Plourde, M.D., FRCPC
Winnipeg Medical Officer of Health

"In my professional opinion, the evidence clearly demonstrates the positive impact of
INSITE, both in improving public health and in decreasing crime. Although we do not yet have a supervised injection facility in Winnipeg, we are closely observing INSITE's ongoing successes and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is supporting similar harm reduction practices." (read more)

***

Bethany Jeal BScN., RN
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority

"Research has shown evidence to support the services provided at INSITE, specifically with regards to the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis, and the reduction of overdose deaths. To date, the published number of overdoses at INSITE is 453, each of these having a positive outcome as there have been zero deaths at INSITE." (read more)

***

Dan Zuberi
Assistant Professor of Sociology
University of British Columbia

"Several peer-reviewed journal articles demonstrate that the InSite Supervised Injection Site experiment has demonstrably saved lives by preventing the deadly consequences of drug overdoses. The onsite medical staff have reduced the need for emergency room visits by addicts experiencing an overdose, thus easing the burden on an overloaded ER system in the health care system. In its short period of operation, it has also improved the quality of life for residents of the Downtown Eastside community and for the city of Vancouver more generally. InSite is a dramatic social experiment, but it is one that is working, and is being watched for potential replication across North American cities and globally. (read more)

***

Roy R. Jeal, Ph.D.
Professor, Booth College

"Many injection users do get off drugs and stay off them using the Safe Injection Site approach. Those who do not stop using drugs do experience improved physical, social and spiritual health. Reduction in harm leads to reductions in the levels of health care and social services required, and to reduction in the human pain and misery caused by substance addiction. The benefits are clear and they are morally correct." (read more)

***

Libby Davies
Member of Parliament, Vancouver-East

"the research shows that InSite is leading to an increase in users who choose to enter detoxification programs and addiction treatment, and that 453 overdoses have resulted in no fatalities thanks to the availability of qualified medical staff." (read more)

***

Professor Yuet W. Cheung, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

"In the past three years, there has been a tremendous amount of professional and academic assessments of the project with respect to its impact on the public health, crime, and other aspects of the community. There is no evidence that the operation of the facility had brought about devastating effects on the community. On the contrary, as many well informed people have pointed out, such a facility is a lifeline for many injection drug abusers." (read more)

***

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan, MLA
Vancouver-Mount Pleasant

"Over the years, we have learned and evolved from our experiences. It was not an easy process as different points of view prevailed. In learning and understanding the issue, I have come to accept the recoginition that dead people don't detox and economically, our current approach to the problem was costing taxpayers significantly with little result." (read more)

***

Ken Frail
Inspector, (Retired)
Vancouver Police Department

"Closure of the SIS will result in increased public drug consumption, increased overdose deaths and increased harm to the entire city." (read more)

***

James Lu MD, MHSc
Chair, Health Officers Council

"HOC members are public health physicians practicing in BC. We are on record as being in support of comprehensive approaches to reducing the harms of psychoactive substances. The Supervised Injection Site Scientific Research Project is providing important evidence regarding this approach to preventing death and illness from injecting street drugs and improving quality of life." (read more)

***

Shamus Reid
BC National Executive Representative
Canadian Federation of Students

"Independent, peer-reviewed research has illustrated that Insite has contributed to public safety in Vancouver through decreasing public drug injection and public disorder. Furthermore, Insite plays a role in relieving the significant burden of HIV/AIDS-related medical costs to Canada's health care system, through reducing the risk of transmission." (read more)

***

Ted Goldberg, Ph.D.

"Swedish drug policy is slowly changing but Sweden is not a country prone to radical and rapid transformation. Instead change is being instituted one step at a time. Therefore much of the Sweden's prohibitionist policy is still in place and probably will remain so in the immediate future. For instance we do not have supervised injection facilities, in spite of all the advantages they provide, such as greatly reducing fatal overdoses, reducing the risk of sharing needles and transmitting HIV, reducing the number of people injecting in public places and leaving infected syringes where children may find them, etc." (read more)

***

Fong Leung Tong Society

"Since our Society is only one block away from the site, we have had the opportunity to notice a remarkable change in this area after this Harm Reduction facility was set up three years ago. To avoid regurgitating what other people have said about the marvellous results of this program: such as saving lives, reducing petty crime, minimizing the spread of HIV/hepatitis C and improving public order, we like to emphasize the fact that we feel much safer and less fearful walking on the street without any harassment or intimidation from the drug users." (read more)

***

James Clancy
National President
National Union of General and Public Employees

"The hard evidence is showing us that safe injection sites can be an important component of a strategy to address the drug crisis in many urban areas. It has proven its worth to the Vancouver community."(read more)

***

Penni Stewart
President,
Canadian Association of University Teachers

James L. Turk
Executive Director
Canadian Association of University Teachers

"the government is putting ideology ahead of sound scientific research and policy in the public interest. This is a disturbing development for both research and public policy in Canada. "(read more)

• June 8 Ottawa's bad prescription on addiction The Toronto Star
• June 7 Majority supports safe-injection sites The Montreal Gazette
• June 7 Insite deals with drug problem in specific ways The Ottawa Citizen
• June 6 Insite supporters bring battle to Parliament Hill The Globe and Mail
• June 5 Jenny Kwan wants PM to back off supervised-injection site The Georgia Straight
• June 5 Clement to assess Quebec's safe-injection-site plans The Globe and Mail
• June 4 The Tories don't understand harm reduction The National Post
• May 30 Insite gets it right The Edmonton Sun
• May 30 Insite decision's aftershocks shake Ottawa Canadian Medicine
• May 29 The rights of drug addicts The Globe and Mail
• May 28 B.C. court makes a courageous decision to support Insite The Vancouver Sun
• May 27 B.C. Supreme Court rules closing safe injection site unconstitutional CBC News
• May 27 Ottawa can't shut down safe injection site: ruling CTV.ca
• May 27 Narcotics laws don't apply to Vancouver injection site: SCOC The National Post
• May 27 Safe injection site to stay open, Supreme Court rules The Province
• May 27 B.C. Supreme Court gives safe-injection site reprieve The Globe and Mail
• May 27 Insite can remain open: judge The Vancouver Sun
• May 26 Mr. Harper: Don't let Insite close The Globe and Mail
• May 25 Insite's proven effective, unlike rest of drug strategies The Victoria Times Colonist
• May 24 The fight to save Vancouver's Insite The Globe and Mail
• May 23 The great debate The Vancouver Courier
• May 23 The missing evidence The Ottawa Citizen
• May 19 Opposition MPs warn Tories of voter backlash in B.C. on safe injection site The Hill Times
• May 17 Drug site support sought The Winnipeg Sun
• May 16 Support for InSite Growing The Province
• May 16 Advocates rally in bid to save safe-injection site The Metro Calgary
• May 12 InSite and harm reduction work The National Post
• May 10 Insite is about more than injections, supporters say The Globe and Mail
• May 9 Canada needs to show it cares about most vulnerable The Globe and Mail
• May 8 PM urged to drop ideology, allow Insite The Vancouver Sun
• May 8 Vancouver safe injection site should stay, say supporters The Winnipeg Free Press
• May 7 Crosses for lives saved The Metro
• May 7 Politics v. Science The Ottawa Citizen
• May 5 Study backs more safe injection sites in Canada The National Post
• May 5 Ottawa keeping open mind on Insite: Clement The Globe and Mail
• May 5 Professor Neil Boyd, SFU Criminologist Speaks Out on InSite Research Canadian Business Online
• May 5 No impact on neighbourhood crime from B.C. injection site, criminologist says The Globe and Mail
• May 5 Expert: Safe injection site improves 'public order' CTV
• May 2 Federal stand on Insite one of duplicity and intransigence The Vancouver Sun
• April 28 Safe-injection site mounts constitutional challenge CBC
• April 23 Harper urged to save safe injection site The National Post
• April 15 Insite saves lives through recovery programs The Thunderbird
• April 15 Insite proven effective The Province
• April 12 Health Canada panel gives injection site favourable review The Vancouver Sun
• April 11 Injection site saves lives, federal experts say Insite provides $4 in benefits for every $1 spent The Vancouver Sun

2007

• October 6 The inside story of Vancouver's safe injection site The Globe and Mail
• October 3 Insite legal for the next nine months Vancouver Sun
• October 3 Canada gives more time to drug injection site Vancouver Sun
• October 2 Keep Insite Open, Premier Says Vancouver Sun
• September 15 Haven from life in hell The Toronto Star
• August 27 Renew Insite's licence The Globe and Mail
• June 27 BC Residents Support License Extension for Vancouver's Supervised Injection Site (InSite) The Mustel Research Group
• May 25 New study showing Insite's role in getting addicts into treatment should silence critics The Vancouver Sun
• February 22 Canada must not follow the U.S. on drug policy The Ottawa Citizen
• January 20 Stop Treating Drug Users as Criminals The Globe and Mail
• January 16 Drug Abuse a Medical Issue The Vancouver Sun
• January 15 Federal drug strategy flawed: study The Vancouver Sun
• January 4 Health minister makes surprise visit The Vancouver Sun

2006

• December 27 Workers offer insight into Insite The Province
• December 23 High on ChristmasThe Vancouver Sun
• September 20 Vancouver safe-injection site lauded in international report Victoria Times Colonist
• September 19 Safe injection site praised in advance UN report The Vancouver Sun
• September 1 B.C. injection site to continue operating, for now CBC
• September 1 Closing safe injection site will put police in bind, says former cop The Vancouver Courier
• August 22 Ex-Mayors Speak Up for Injection Site The Globe and Mail
• August 22 Former Mayors Back InSite The Metro
• August 22 Ex Mayors Unite for InSite 24 Hours
• August 20 Former Mayor's Support Injection Site The Province
• August 17 Stopping Traffic The Metro
• July 26 Minister Shies Away from MP's Comments The Metro
• July 21 Safe Injection Site Tries to Sway Government The Province
• July 21 Tories to Let InSite Close The Metro
• July 21 His Cross to Bear The Globe and Mail
• July 21 InSite has Been Life Saver 24 Hours
• July 20 Study Indicates Deaths and Health Care Costs Cut The Vancouver Sun
• July 20 Safe Injection Site Awaits Fate The Vancouver Sun
• July 20 Safe Injection Site Lauded The Globe and Mail
• July 19 Big Names Support Injection Site The Vancouver Courier
• July 18 Australia backs safe injection program The Globe & Mail
• July 14 Conservatives miss the point 24 hrs.
• July 11 Merchants back injection site The Metro
• July 11 Community wants to keep Insite 24 Hrs.
• July 8 Safe injection site and more treatment are the real solutions Victoria Times Colonist
• July 6 Site seeks support The Metro
• July 6 More safe-injection site's needed to aid addicts The Province
• July 5 Should Prince Rupert consider a safe injection site? The Prince Rupert Daily News
• July 5 Insite operator lobbying feds The Courier
• June 28 Regional strategy needed to fight drug problem Maple Ridge News
• June 20 Four pillars strategy is making a difference Business in Vancouver
• June 19 We're all victims of drug addictions Victoria Times Colonist
• June 14 The real cost of drug addiction Syndicated
• June 14 Spending to ease addictions logical Penticton Herald
• June 14 Harper under gun to kill Insite Victoria Times Colonist
• June 13 Spending on substance abuse just makes sense Prince Rupert Daily News
• June 12 Pragmatic economics say we should deal with all forms of substance abuse The Vancouver Sun
• June 8 Safe injection sends more addicts to detox The Nanaimo Daily News
• June 8 Safe injection site leads to detox The Vancouver Sun
• May 29 Prime Minister gives safe injection site a cool reception Victoria Times Colonist
• May 26 Keep safe injection site open - chief The Vancouver Courier
• May 21 Evidence demonstrates Conservatives should keep supporting Insite The Vancouver Sun
• May 10 Let me tell you a secret about harm reduction The Vancouver Sun
• May 3 Drug policy 'headed in the right direction,' U.S. prosecutor says The Globe & Mail
• May 1 Mayors to discuss safe injection site Victoria Times Colonist
• April 12 Injection site goes a step higher The Vancouver Courier
• February 24 Safe injection site a help, if only marginally The Province
• February 17 Victoria needs a little Insite Victoria Times Colonist
• February 17 Needle exchange reduces disease rates The Kelowna Daily Courier
• February 1 Safe injection sites a success, studies suggest The Kelowna Daily Courier
• January 3 Key players in safe site Victoria Times Colonist

2005

• December 5 Harper's drug crackdown could cut funds for safe injection site The Vancouver Sun
• November 27 Police target drug addicts Edmonton Journal
• November 27 Cops say no to drugs The Province
• November 6 Wanted: Champion to take on fears Victoria Times Colonist
• October 1 Islanders tour safe needle sites The Vancouver Sun
• October 1 'Give it a chance': A Victoria team takes a hard look at Vancouver's supervised-injection sites Victoria Times Colonist
• October 1 Two centres, different approaches Victoria Times Colonist
• July 19 Injection site attracting younger users The Vancouver Sun
• May 27 Safe-injection site a winner, says mayor: Vancouver's Campbell insists 'we've seen a positive difference' The Province
• March 18 Safe injection site reduces HIV spread CP
• March 18 Safe drug-injection sites reduce needle-sharing, HIV spread: study Regina Leader-Post
• March 18 Sharing of needles drops: Risky practices reduced, says study The Province
• January 31 Victoria taking first step toward creating a safe injection site for drug addicts Victoria Times Colonist

2004

• September 27 Researchers deem Vancouver's safe injection site successful CBC News
• September 24 No fatal overdoses mean site works: proponents The Vancouver Sun
• September 21 Addicts, health officials trumpet success of safe injection site CBC News
• April 4 Safe injection site - CBC Radio Transcript CBC News
• March 27 Safe injection site in Victoria fine with BC's top doctor Victoria Times Colonist
• February 7 On the mean streets Macleans

2003

• January 3 Constructive leadership needed on drug sites Vancouver Sun

2002

• December 19 The mayor's right on this one Vancouver Sun
• November 20 Victoria police back 'proper' injection sites The Province
• November 5 Campbell vows drug strategy will start day after election The Vancouver Sun
• November 4 Injection sites by Jan. 1: Campbell The Vancouver Sun
• July 17 Mayors support safe injection site The Vancouver Sun

2001

• August 27 Embraced by the needle Globe & Mail

Click the title of a topic below to open the document (PDF format).

1. Increased Use of Addiction Treatment

The SIF’s opening was associated independently with a 30% increase in detoxification service use, and this behaviour was associated with increased rates of long-term addiction treatment initiation and reduced injecting at the SIF.

Evan Wood, Mark W. Tyndall, Ruth Zhang, Julio S. G. Montaner & Thomas Kerr, et al. 2007. Rate of detoxification service use and its impact among a cohort of supervised injecting facility users Society for the Study of Addiction

2. Attendance and Detoxification

Reports that weekly use of Insite and any contact with the facility’s addictions counselor were both independently associated with more quicker entry into a detoxification program.

Wood E, Tyndall MW, Zhang R, J.Stoltz, Lai C, et al. 2006c. Attendance at Supervised Injecting Facilities and Use of Detoxification Services. New England Journal of Medicine 354:2512-4

3. Syringe Sharing

Reports that Insite appears to have reduced syringe sharing.

Kerr T, Tyndall MW, Li K, Montaner JS, Wood E. 2005. Safer Injecting Facility Use and Syringe Sharing Among Injection Drug Users. Lancet 366:316-8

4. Impact on Drug-Use Patterns

Reports that the opening of Insite did not adversely affect community drug use, including relapse into injected drug use, stopping injected drug use, and seeking treatment. Insite appears to have improved public order and reduced syringe sharing.

Kerr T, Stoltz J, Tyndall M, Li K, Zhang R, et al. 2006. Impact of a Medically Supervised Safer Injection Facility on Community Drug Use Patterns: A Before and After Study. British Medical Journal 332:220-2

5. Culture Change Case Study

Highlights the ideas, processes and historical events that contributed to a cultural transformation that was critical to opening the Insite in Vancouver.

Small D, Palepu A, Tyndal MW. 2006. The establishment of North America's first state sanctioned supervised injection facility: a case study in culture change. International Journal of Drug Policy 17:73-82

6. Attendance, drug use patterns, and referrals

Reports that Insite has successfully been integrated into the community, has attracted a wide cross section of community injection drug users, has intervened in overdoses and initiated over 2000 referrals to counseling and other support services.

Tyndall MW, Kerr T, Zhang R, King E, Montaner JG, Wood E. 2005. Attendance, Drug Use Patterns, and Referrals Made From North America's First Supervised Injection Facility. Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

7. Evaluation Methodology

Lays out the method by which the health and community impacts of Insite will be measured and evaluated.

Wood E, Kerr T, Buchner C, Marsh D, Montaner JS, Tyndall MW. 2004a. Methodology for Evaluating Insite: Canada's First Medically Supervised Safer Injection Facility for Injection Drug Users. Harm Reduction Journal 1:1-5

8. Rationale for Evaluation

Outlines the rationale for evaluating Insite and reasons that if the Insite study is able to show public-health and/or community benefits it may provide a public-health model with the potential to address many of these drug-related harms that plague many North American cities.

Wood E, Kerr T, Montaner JS, Strathdee S, Kerr T, et al. 2004b. Rationale For Evaluating North America's First Medically Supervised Injecting Facility. Lancet Infectious Diseases 4:301-6

9. Changes in Public Order

Reports that the opening of Insite appears to have lead to improvements in public order, including reduced public injection drug use and public syringe disposal.

Wood E, Kerr T, Small W, Li K, Marsh D, et al. 2004c. Changes In Public Order After The Opening of a Medically Supervised Safer Injection Facility for Injection Drug Users. Canadian Medical Association Journal 171:731-4

10. Impact on Drug Related Crime

Examines crime rates in the neighborhood surrounding Insite during the year before versus the year after Insite opened. It finds no increases in drug trafficking or assaults/robbery, and a decline in vehicle break-ins/vehicle theft.

Wood E, Tyndall MW, Lai C, Montaner JSG, Kerr T. 2006a. Impact of a Medically Supervised Safer Injecting Facility on Drug Dealing and Other Drug- Related Crime. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy 1:1-4

11. Attraction of Higher-Risk Injection Users

Reports that Insite attracted injection drug users (IDUs) with elevated risks of blood-borne disease infection and overdose, and IDUs who were contributing to public drug use and unsafe syringe disposal problems stemming from public injection drug use.

Wood E, Tyndall MW, Li K, Lloyd-Smith E, Small W, et al. 2005a. Do Supervised Injecting Facilities Attract Higher-Risk Injection Drug Users? American Journal of Preventive Medicine 29:126-30

12. Service Uptake

Reports that

• Insite has been well accepted among injection drug users in the community.
• Homelessness, a common factor in public injection drug use, is associated with frequent use of Insite
• Daily safe injection facility use is associated with several risk behaviors that have been linked to elevated rates of HIV transmission in this community, including frequent cocaine injection.

Wood E, Tyndall MW, Qui Z, Zhang R, Montaner JS, Kerr T. 2006b. Service Uptake and Characteristics of Injection Drug Users Utilizing North America's First Medically Supervised Safer Injection Facility. American Journal of Public Health 96:770-3

13. Syringe Sharing Factors

Reports that the use of Insite by injection drug users is associated with reduced syringe sharing.

Wood E, Tyndall MW, Stoltz J, Small W, Lloyd-Smith E, et al. 2005b. Factors Associated with Syringe Sharing Among Users of a Medically Supervised Injecting Facility. American Journal of Infectious Diseases 1:50-4

14. HIV Education

Reports that individuals requiring help injecting – a risk factor previously associated with HIV incidence – are receiving safer injecting education at Insite.

Wood E, Tyndall MW, Stoltz J, Small W, Zhang R, et al. 2005c. Safer Injecting Education for HIV Prevention Within a Medically Supervised Safer Injecting Facility. International Journal of Drug Policy 16:281-4

15. Preventing Overdose Deaths

Reports that there have been a large number of overdoses within the SIF, and that none of these overdoses resulted in a fatality. These findings suggest that SIF can play a role in managing overdoses.

Thomas Kerr, Mark W. Tyndall, Calvin Lai, Julio S.G. Montaner, Evan Wooda, et al. 2006c. Drug-related overdoses within a medically supervised safer injection facility. International Journal of Drug Policy

16. Preventing HIV/AIDS

The purpose of this analysis is to measure the prevalence and correlates of baseline HIV among those who are using the SIF, to determine if InSite could be used as a site for HIV related care and treatment.

Mark W Tyndall, Evan Wood, Ruth Zhang, Calvin Lai, Julio SG Montaner, Thomas Kerr, 2006. HIV seroprevalence among participants at a medically supervised injection facility in Vancouver, Canada: Implications for prevention, care and treatment. Harm Reduction Journal

17. Reducing Harms Associated With Drug-Related Overdose

Conventional drug overdose prevention strategies have been criticised for failing to address the macro- and micro-environmental factors that shape drug injecting practices and compromise individual ability to reduce the risks associated with drug-related overdose.Safer injection facilities (SIFs) constitute one such intervention, although little is known about the impact of such facilities on factors that mediate risk for overdose.

Thomas Kerr, Will Small, David Moore, Evan Wood, 2006. A micro-environmental intervention to reduce the harms associated with drug-related overdose: Evidence from the evaluation of Vancouver’s safer injection facility. International Journal of Drug Policy

18. Changing Injecting Practices

Consistent SIF use was compared with inconsistent use on a number of self-reported changes in injecting practice variables.More consistent SIF use is associated with positive changes in injecting practices, including less reuse of syringes, use of sterile water, swabbing injection sites, cooking/filtering drugs, less rushed injections, safe syringe disposal and less public injecting.

Jo-Anne Stoltz, Evan Wood, Will Small, Kathy Li, Mark Tyndall, Julio Montaner, Thomas Kerr, 2007. Changes in injecting practices associated with the use of a medically supervised safer injection facility. Journal of Public Health

19. SIS Evaluation Review

In many cities, infectious disease and overdose epidemics are occurring among illicit injection drug users. Vancouver’s safer injecting facility has been associated with an array of community and public health benefits without evidence of adverse impacts. These findings should be useful to other cities considering supervised injecting facilities and to governments considering regulating their use.

Evan Wood, Mark W. Tyndall, Julio S. Montaner, Thomas Kerr, 2006. Summary of findings from the evaluation of a pilot medically supervised safer injecting facility. Canadian Medical Association Journal

Commentary: The need to promote public health in the field of illicit drug use. Dr. Mark A. Wainberg, McGill University AIDS Centre, Jewish General Hospital, 2006 Canadian Medical Association Journal

20. Drug Users' Perceptions Regarding InSite

This study was undertaken to explore injection drug users' experiences and opinions regarding North America's first SIF in Vancouver, Canada.

Steven Petrar, Thomas Kerr, Mark W. Tyndall, Ruth Zhan, Julio S.G. Montaner, Evan Wood, 2007 Addictive Behaviors

21. Limiting Hepatitis C Infection

The SIF has attracted injection drug users with a high burden of HCV infection and a substantial proportion of uninfected individuals. Although crosssectional, this study provides some insight into historical risks for HCV infection among this population, and prospective follow-up of this cohort will be useful to determine if use of the SIF is associated with reduced risk behaviour and HCV incidence.

E. Wooda, T. Kerra, J. Stoltza, Z. Quia, R. Zhanga, J.S.G. Montanera, M.W. Tyndalla, 2005 The Royal Institute of Public Health.

Who is IFCS?

Insite For Community Safety is an initiative of the PHS Community Services Society which co-manages InSite, North America's only Supervised Injection Facility, and whose purpose is to act as an umbrella for individuals and groups across the political spectrum who do not usually work together, but are united now to build a comprehensive, made-in-Canada drug strategy.

What is InSite?

Opened on September 21, 2003, Insite is the first supervised injection facility in North America. Insite is a clean, safe environment where users can inject their own drugs off the streets and under the supervision of nurses. Learn more

Community Support

Insite is supported by a broad range of organizations and individuals including the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health, Premier Gordon Campbell, Minister David Emerson, Senator Larry Campbell, Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham, Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, former Vancouver Mayor Phillip Owen, injection drug users, community groups, local businesses, academic institutions and others.

See what they are saying: The Community

The Science

Over the past three years Insite has been subject to rigorous scientific evaluation, producing over 25 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious scientific journals. The scientific data indicate Insite is meeting the following objectives:

• Reducing public injections
• Reducing overdose fatalities
• Reducing the transmission of blood-borne infections like HIV and Hepatitis C
• Reducing injection-related infections
• Improving public order

The scientific data indicates Insite is meeting these objectives. Read The Science

In the News

Insite has attracted a lot of positive media attention, including an endorsement from the Vancouver Sun Editorial Board. Read The News