Court Rules Canadian Safe Injection Site Can Remain Open

The saga of North America's first legal supervised safe injection site looks set to continue, after a ruling by the B.C. Court of Appeal today struck down an appeal from the federal government, aimed at closing the facility.

Insite provides clean needles and safe facilities supervised by medical professionals, alongside rehab and treatment programs, to the Downtown East side community of Vancouver. The neighbourhood is among the most poverty-stricken in Canada, and has been plagued by homelessness and drug addiction. In 2003, Insite was allowed to open and granted an exemption from Canada's drug laws by the Liberal government of the day, after lobbying from the Vancouver civic government, community groups and medical professionals. The facility operates under the principles of harm prevention when it comes to illegal drugs, focusing on minimising harm to drug-affected communities and the users themselves, by reducing needle-borne disease, and helping to wean addicts off addictions. The Court's decision is the culmination of a 2008 challenge launched by Insite supporters in the BC Supreme Court, which struck down parts of Canada's drug laws as inconsistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This gave Insite the legal grounds to keep operating without the need for government exemptions. It's likely that other facilities might open across the country, as well. However, the Conservative-led federal government launched a challenge in the Court of Appeal, which was ruled on today. "In this province, there is no longer any serious debate about the need for Insite as a health care facility... All of the provincial authorities, including the Attorney General of British Columbia and the Vancouver Police, agree that Insite is a necessary component in dealing with the scourge of addiction in the (Downtown East Side)," the Court said in its ruling. "With this second consecutive decision in favour of InSite, I hope the federal government will drop its legal efforts so that we can go back to focusing on InSite for what it is — a harm reduction facility that saves lives and improves health outcomes for those living with addictions," Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said, as quoted by Global BC Peer-reviewed research has shown that Insite has had beneficial effects on the Downtown East Side community, which include higher numbers of addicts in treatment programs, reduced drug-related litter, and reduced needle-sharing and public injections. But the federal Conservatives have taken a strong anti-crime, anti-drug stance in recent years. Opposition to programs such as Insite has been one of the Conservatives' main nods to their core supporters. In 2008, Federal Minister of Health Tony Clement chastised a meeting of the Canadian Medical Association for their support of Insite. "This is a profound moral issue, and when Canadians are fully informed of it, I believe they will reject it on principle," Clement said. ""Is it true that supervised injections offer 'positive health outcomes?' I would not put it this way. Insite [Vancouver's safe injection site] may slow the death spiral of a deadly drug habit, but it does not reverse it." After today's defeat, it's expected the government will launch a new challenge in Canada's Supreme Court.