April 28, 2008
THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER - The fight to keep the doors open at Canada's only safe injection site heads to the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver Monday.
The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the Portland Hotel Society, which manages the site, say the 10-day trial will challenge the federal minister of health's ability to close the facility, known as Insite.
It has been operating under a special government exemption of the Narcotics Control Act for over four years but federal officials have repeatedly refused to make that exemption permanent.
Instead, two temporary exemptions have been granted and the latest is due to expire at the end of June.
Insite will be forced to close if further extensions or a permanent exemption are denied.
Several studies published in prestigious journals such as Lancet or the New England Journal of Medicine report Insite has not only saved lives, prevented disease and improved access to drug treatment, it has also helped reduce street disorder in Vancouver's crime-ridden Downtown Eastside.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
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