BCCfE Rocks

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"Do safe injection sites contribute to lowering
drug use and fighting addiction? Right now the
only thing the research to date has proven is
drug addicts need more help to get off drugs,"
Minister Clement says. Minister Clement has
deferred the decision on the Vancouver
application to December 31st, 2007, during which
time additional studies will be conducted into
how supervised injection sites affect crime,
prevention and treatment.
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Public Opinion Polling
Decima Poll, 2006
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Interference in Independent Peer-review Processes?

• Reviewer 1
• There has been a strikingly high yield of
  scientific outputwith important scientific
  communications in high impact journalsI would
  strongly recommend that the research funding
  support should be provided
• Reviewer 2
• The scientific evaluation is methodologically
  robustThe Canadian scientific evaluation has
  contributed more to public health than all other
  international SIS evaluations combined.
• Reviewer 3
• Basically, I consider this proposal to be superb
  and of extremely high importance I am in full
  and enthusiastic support for this proposed
  research.

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Continuing the Evaluation of Insite

• The Minister of Health elected to not renew
  funding for the evaluation of Insite despite
  Health Canadas recommendation that it be funded

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a policy horror storya well-executed piece of
policy research on a promising innovation was
discontinued for unstated but blatant political
reasons. MacCoun Reuter
the Canadian governmentignored science, due
process, and public opinion while also risking
harm to the countrys international standing.
Wodak
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Another two RCMP-funded SIF Reports?

• Davies (2006) SIF evaluations that have never
  been critically scrutinized.Many of the existing
  shortcomings, such as sample size, longitudinal
  data and comparative analyses could be addressed
  with more rigorous research designsThe question
  of baseline data is likely to continue to be held
  hostage to the complexity of logistics and the
  scarcity of resources.
• Mangham (2007) An informed critique is made of
  on sic the specific published Insite
  evaluationsthe published evaluations overstate
  findings, downplay or ignore negative findings,
  report meaningless findings, and overall, give an
  impression the facility is successful, when in
  fact the research clearly shows a lack of program
  impact and success.

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The Institute is charged with creating and
strengthening international laws that hold drug
users and dealers criminally accountable for
their actions. The institute supports efforts to
vigorously oppose policies based on the concept
of harm reduction. (see http//www.dfaf.org/glo
baldrugpolicy.php)
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The Board calls upon the Government of Canada to
eliminatedrug injection sites, which are in
violation of the international drug control
treaties, to which Canada is a party
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It would be difficult to assert that, in
establishing drug-injection rooms, it is the
intent of Parties states to actually incite 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 injection with grave transmittable diseases
and... 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.23
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Politicizing and Misrepresenting the Science
Surrounding Insite

• Interference in independent peer-review processes
• Halting of supervised injection site pilot
  research in Canada
• Use of public to fund deniers of the
  science derived from the evaluation of Insite
• Publication of studies discrediting the Insite
  evaluation in fake open access journals
• Placement of gag orders on new supervised
  injection site research
• Suppression of Expert Advisory Committee
  reports

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Closing thought

• Scientists and engineers have a right, indeed
  an obligation, to enter the political debate when
  the nations leaders systematically ignore
  scientific evidence and analysis, put ideological
  interests ahead of scientific truths, suppress
  valid scientific evidence and harass and threaten
  scientists for speaking honestly about their
  research

(Union of Concerned Scientists, July 2006)
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Acknowledgements

• VIDUS participants
• SEOSI participants
• InSite users
• eSIS staff - Aaron Edie, David Isham, Suze
  Coulter, Megan Olsen, Soni Thindal, Daniel Kane,
  Christy Power
• CHASE - Tomiye Ishida, Calvin Lai, Kate Shannon
• VIDUS - Caitlin Johnston, John Charest, Cody
  Callon, Steve Kain, Kathy Churchill, Sandra
  Wheller, Vanessa Volkommer, Nancy Laliberte,
• Insite/PHS staff frontline staff, Chris
  Buchner, Dan Small, Sarah Evans, Jeff West
• VCH Chris Buchner, Heather Hay, David Marsh