"These legally sanctioned facilities could provide a safe, secure environment where drug users could inject under the care of health professionals trained in safe-injection techniques and overdose response, and away from the dirt and dangers of the street," said Mayor Philip Owen.

With Vancouver a major port of entry for heroin and cocaine, the local drug market has soared since the 1980s. Currently, there are an estimated 12,000 intravenous-drug users in the city.

The mayor's proposal was met with mixed reviews. Among the major opponents are businesses who are concerned that injection sites could bring more addicted individuals into the area. "The only thing we are against is the location. The location is only a half a block from our center," said Monty Jang, chairman of the Chinese Cultural Center. "Our center is having a Chinese-language school comprising somewhere around 1,500 students weekly. Let me put it this way: with that kind of treatment, you may be attracting a lot of those drug addicts hanging around, and maybe creating some prostitutes to make money and to buy drugs."

Others, like Vancouver City Council member Fred Bass, support the mayor's proposal. "We've had a drug scene that is out of control," Bass said. "It needs to be treated as an epidemic. It is important to recognize how far behind North America is in addressing a comprehensive approach to the drug epidemic."

Vancouver is not alone in exploring safe injection sites. Other Canadian cities, including Montreal, have studied the idea.

Canada's top drug-enforcement officer, Chief Superintendent Robert Lesser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, has encouraged cities to consider safe injection sites to curb the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. "I think it's something we have to look at," Lesser said.

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