[mobglob-discuss] Vancouver "Drug Policy" in the Guardian

Wed May 7 15:04:02 PDT 2003



>From: "martin william fournier" <mfou1 at hotmail.com>
>To: mfou1 at hotmail.com
>Subject: hahaha Guardian!
>Date: Wed, 07 May 2003 15:02:43 -0700
>
>The Guardian
>
>Crackdown on Drug Dealers Draw Complaints
>
>Wednesday May 7, 2003 10:19 PM
>
>
>VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - A police crackdown on drug dealers in 
>downtown Vancouver is causing more harm than good for the neighborhood's 
>AIDS and hepatitis epidemic, a Human Rights Watch report says, asserting 
>addicts are being driven away from needle-exchange programs and other 
>services.
>
>Called Operation Torpedo, the crackdown has gotten some pushers off the 
>streets, ``but at a high cost,'' said the report issued Wednesday by the 
>New York-based rights group. Its findings were echoed by health care 
>workers, activists and addicts in the city, known for its progressive drug 
>policies.
>
>``The flouting of due process in this crackdown is shocking for a country 
>with Canada's strong commitment to human rights,'' said Joanne Csete, 
>director of the HIV/AIDS Program of Human Rights Watch. ``Vancouver risks 
>making its HIV/AIDS crisis much worse and it's already the worst on the 
>continent.''
>
>Illegal searches and arrests, excessive force and other abuses committed by 
>police on addicts not accused of dealing drugs have worsened the already 
>dire situation in the 15-block neighborhood on Vancouver's east side, which 
>is frequented by more than 5,000 addicts, the report said.
>
>``These actions, which violate Canadian and international human rights 
>guarantees, contributed to driving drug users underground and away from 
>lifesaving HIV prevention and other health services,'' it said.
>
>Vancouver police denied officers abuse their power, saying the crackdown is 
>aimed at dealers, not users, with a goal of ridding the area of pushers 
>while keeping addicts near the services they need.
>
>``This whole report lacks credibility,'' Inspector Doug LePard said 
>Wednesday.
>
>``There's no reason for addicts to be worried,'' he said. ``We're focusing 
>on disorder and we're focusing on traffickers.''
>
>Still, health workers fear a new wave of HIV and hepatitis C cases in 
>Vancouver, which already has the highest infection rate in North America. 
>The British Colombia Center for Disease Control puts the AIDS rate among 
>area addicts at more than 30 percent, while well over half the intravenous 
>drug users are infected with hepatitis C.
>
>The problem seems ironic for Vancouver, a coastal city known for its 
>magnificent mountain and ocean vistas and laid back West Coast lifestyle, 
>along with progressive policies for drug addicts.
>
>More than 2.5 million needles are handed out to addicts each year in the 
>city's east end, a warren of dilapidated buildings and filthy streets 
>believed to be the stalking ground of a suspected serial killer accused of 
>murdering at least 15 prostitutes and drug addicts from the area.
>
>Mayor Larry Campbell, a former police officer and coroner, won last year's 
>election on a platform that included the promise of safe injection sites as 
>part of a ``four pillar'' drug policy involving treatment, prevention, harm 
>reduction and enforcement.
>
>So far, Operation Torpedo is the only visible step taken, with regular 
>police patrols on foot and in squad cars.
>
>On streets littered with orange needle caps and stinking of urine, users 
>and those trying to help them complain of police intimidation or worse.
>
>``I've seen a guy down and three cops on top of him with a knee in his 
>forehead,'' said Chantal Brunet, 37, who called herself a recovering heroin 
>addict. ``They're abusing their authority.''
>
>Addicts fearful of being confronted by police use dirty needles they find 
>on the ground instead of going to needle exchange sites, she said, while 
>others may be fleeing the area in violation of bail conditions.
>
>At a corner near a known heroin market called ``the shooting gallery'' by 
>locals, two men handed out needles, clean water and condoms for the 
>Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, a local support group.
>
>``It's going to increase the human tragedy tenfold,'' the group's 
>president, Rob Weppler, said of the police operation.
>
>Needle distribution has dropped by half and condom handouts to prostitutes 
>are down 60 percent since the crackdown began April 7, according to 
>Weppler. That will fuel the AIDS and hepatitis spread in the area, he said.
>
>The Human Rights Watch report called for a halt to abusive police tactics, 
>public hearings on abuses and creation of an independent commission to 
>investigate complaints of police misconduct.
>
>``The system is not conducive to people who file these grievances, and I 
>don't think we'd have to write this report if it were,'' said Jonathan 
>Cohen, a Human Rights Watch HIV/AIDS researcher.
>
>With Vancouver a finalist for the 2010 Olympics, there are fears of a 
>broader crackdown before the July decision by the International Olympic 
>Committee. When an IOC evaluation team visited in March, it was kept far 
>from the downtown east side.
>
>^---
>
>Associated Press writer Tom Cohen contributed to this report.
>
>
>Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003
>

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