"It is not the police intention to intervene or interfere with anyone entering the site, unless there is a lawful reason to do so," Police Chief Jamie Graham said. However, the police presence presumably scares off dealers
Mayor Larry Campbell, a former police officer and coroner, was elected last year after pledging to establish safe injection sites as part of a "four pillar" drug policy involving treatment, prevention, harm reduction and enforcement.
He called the Insite clinic a vital part of a plan to reduce overdose deaths and the spread of AIDS and hepatitis C, and to provide primary health care to drug users. So far this year, 37 people have died of drug overdoses in Vancouver.
Two blocks away, users inject at an illegal shooting gallery that opened in April due to impatience over waiting for the opening of the government-sponsored clinic. Police are letting it operate for now, but say they are keeping a close watch.
Joanne Csete, a spokesman for the international group Human Rights Watch, praised the opening of the Insite clinic as essential to helping users avoid overdose and infection while exposing them to help toward kicking the habit.
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