The federal health minister has told Vancouver Coastal Health that the city's controversial supervised drug injection site will be allowed to operate for a further six months.

The Insite supervised injection facility on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has been operating since September 2003.
(CBC)

Insite will be allowed to remain open until June 30, according to Viviana Zanocco, a spokesperson for Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

"We understand that the extension is being granted to allow Health Canada to conduct, or gather, additional research on the impact of injection sites, on prevention, and treatment and crime," Zanocco told CBC News.

The federal government temporarily exempted the facility from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as a pilot project in 2003. After the initial exception expired, an extension was granted while federal Health Minister Tony Clement reviewed its operations.

Tuesday's announcement extends the exemption once again, without giving any long-term commitment to its operation.

Speaking on Monday in Vancouver, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said he believes the site is not part of the drug problem in the city, but part of the solution, and that the site should stay open.

The Insite injection facility provides a clean supervised area - a countertop with a chair - and clean syringes for injecting common street drugs such as heroin. Users inject the drugs themselves, while medical staff supervise.
(CBC)

"Well I think that it's actually been a facility and a service that has made a difference, so I would like to have it stay open," said Campbell.

"I know our minister of health will work with the federal minister of health and our federal MPs to secure its future for the long term," said Campbell.

Insite is run by the Portland Hotel Society and funded by the provincial government through the Vancouver Health Authority. The federal government funded an initial study of the clinic during its first years of operation.

The facility in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood was the first legal supervised drug injection site in North America designed to help drug addicts to get their fixes safely and cleanly, with nurses providing clean syringes and keeping watch for overdoses. Injection drug users bring their own drugs to the site.

Addicts can also access referrals to drug detox and rehabilitation services at the facility.

Supporters of Insite say there is considerable scientific evidence it decreases harm associated with drug addition in the community, but the Conservative government has questioned the effectiveness of the facility.