Insite

Insite is the first legal supervised safe injection site in North America, located at 139 East Hastings Street, in the troubled Downtown Eastside neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. The site provides a clean, safe location for injection drug use, primarily heroin, cocaine, and morphine. Medical staff are present to provide addiction treatment, mental health assistance, and first aid in the event of an overdose or wound. Over a two year period ending March 31, 2006, the site recorded an average of 607 visits per day and 453 overdoses total, with none resulting in a fatality. Health Canada has provided $500,000 per year to operate the site, and the BC Ministry of Health contributed $1,200,000 to renovate the site and cover operating costs.

Operation
Insite has been operated since 2003 by Vancouver Coastal Health, under a special exemption of Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, granted by the Liberal government via Health Canada. The site was slated to close on September 12, 2006, as the exemption was for a three year pilot project. The new Conservative government granted a temporary extension, then added a six month extension that ends mid-2008.

Research
Since opening, the site has been the focus of numerous scientific studies, in peer-reviewed journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, the British Medical Journal, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Findings have shown that the site has led to a reduction of public injections, neighbourhood litter, and needle sharing. It has also led to an increase in detoxification and addiction treatment, and has not been shown to increase crime or rates of relapse in former drug users.

Support and criticism
Partners include the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Police Department, and the PHS Community Services Society. The site has the support of Vancouver's mayor Sam Sullivan, British Columbia's premier Gordon Campbell, and former high-profile Vancouver mayors Larry Campbell, Mike Harcourt, and Philip Owen. The International AIDS Society and the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV-AIDS, and the Canadian Union of Public and General Employees also support Insite. Though originally opposed to the safe injection site, Chinatown and Gastown merchants associations now support it. International supporters include the UK-based think tank Senlis Council and the Australian Parliamentary Group for Drug Law Reform.

The site has drawn criticism from the Bush administration; the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy called it "state-sponsored suicide" at the time of its opening. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police do not support Insite, despite the fact that a report commissioned by the RCMP (conducted by two criminologists) concluded in favour of the safe injection site.

Government
While the Liberal government allowed Insite to open, since 2006 its fate has been the responsibility of the new Conservative government, which has not been as supportive of it. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has voiced opposition to the injection site in the past, saying that "We as a government will not use taxpayers' money to fund drug use." In mid-July 2006, Conservative MP David Fletcher stated that the their government would let Insite's special exemption lapse before deciding whether to continue the project. The following week a spokesman for Tony Clement, the Minister of Health, refuted that, saying that a decision had not been made yet. During the XVI International AIDS Conference, held in Toronto, two high-ranking Liberal MPs (Bill Graham and Keith Martin) put their support behind the centre, and criticized the Conservative government for delaying their decision. Insite supporters also demonstrated in Toronto during the conference, prompting the government to further delay any announcement, citing the week's 'politicized' nature.

On September 1, 2006, Health Minister Tony Clement deferred the decision of whether to extend the exemption for the site, citing a need for more research. However, on the same day the government cut all funding for future research, amounting to $1.5 million in lost research money. On August 13, 2007, the Portland Hotel Society and two drug addicts filed suit in the BC Supreme Court to keep the centre open, arguing that its closure would be a violation of the Charter right of Insite users to "security of the person."

On October 4, 2007, during the announcement of its $64-million drug strategy, the Conservative government announced that Insite will be granted another six month extension, allowing it to operate until June 30, 2008.