CRACKDOWN HASN'T CUT DRUG USE IN DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE

Police Action Spread Unsafe Disposal Of Needles, B.C.  Researchers Say

Vancouver's police crackdown on the Downtown Eastside drug market didn't deter users from taking drugs, didn't prompt them to go into treatment, and didn't change the price of drugs, says a report published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

But, the report says, the intensive police action that began last April did spread drug activity from a concentrated area around Main and Hastings to a much wider area throughout the Downtown Eastside, which has the potential for drawing in new users and increasing HIV infection rates.