InSite: the motion

for those of you who were as concerned about the possibility of Sam Sullivan selling off the future of InSite in favour of his own pet projects/ 'civil city', i turn your attention to this motion passed in city council. thanks to Nathan Allen for forwarding this on to me. my apologies for the poor formatting.

- choke hold


Mover: Kim CapriSeconder: Mayor Sam Sullivan

Whereas:The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority's Safe Injection Site:Was first formally introduced by former Mayor Phillip Owen withVancouver's Four Pillars Strategy to improve conditions in the Downtown East Side;Is one element of a drug strategy that also includes prevention,treatment and enforcement;Has been successfully operating for the last 3.5 years under a federal regulatory exemption which expires this year;Has been the subject of research studies that support its effectiveness in reducing the harm associated with drug use and addiction;Supports the City of Vancouver's goal of civility on our streets andfinding compassionate solutions to challenging social issues;Supports Vancouver's objectives as identified in Project Civil City;Complements the groundbreaking North American Opiate MedicationInitiative (NAOMI) heroin assisted treatment trials led by researchersat the University of British Columbia and University of Montreal, andfunded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research;Will be an important agenda item on Mayor Sam Sullivan's meeting next month with the Four Pillars Coalition;Has submitted an application to Health Canada for a 3.5 year extension of their federal exemption.

And Whereas:The Inner Change Society's Chronic Addiction Substitute Treatment (CAST) research trial:Will work with addicted people to change their drug habits from illegalstreet drugs to legally available, orally-administered prescriptionmedications;Will analyze the effects on both the user's health and the community at large;Will include regular interaction with health professionals andfacilitate interventions to help users develop an "exit strategy" to endtheir drug dependency;Proposes to help reduce the open drug market and other illegal activity, improve health, increase access to housing and more employment opportunities for individual addicts;Is being developed by some of the most experienced health researchers in the field of mental health and addiction;Is based in Vancouver and has garnered support from a broad range of key stakeholders and an experienced Board of Directors;Is consistent with the drug substitution elements of the Four Pillarsstrategy;Is one element of a drug strategy that also includes prevention,treatment and enforcement;Will be an important agenda item on Mayor Sam Sullivan's meeting next month with the Four Pillars Coalition;Will also require a federal regulatory exemption;Complements the objectives of Vancouver's safe injection site and NAOMI heroin assisted treatment trials;Is likely to receive referrals from Vancouver Coastal Health'ssupervised injection site.

Therefore Be It Resolved That:This Council formally express its support for the Vancouver CoastalHealth Authority's federal application for a 3.5 year extension ofVancouver's Safe Injection Site.

Be it Further Resolved That:This Council formally express its support for the general principles andobjectives of the Inner Change Society's Chronic Addiction SubstituteTreatment (CAST) research trial.