• Legal rights to harm reduction rooted in
– Constitutional rights
– Human Rights codes
– Rights under common law
– Other statutes
Some of our harm reduction
focused legal work
• Fighting restrictions to methadone and needle
programs in communities
• Fighting criminalization of sex work
• Fighting for harm reduction in prison
• Fighting mandatory minimums
• Fighting for heroin assisted therapy
The Insite decision – one year later…
• The Supreme Court of Canada held that
Vancouver’s sanctioned supervised injection
site couldn’t be shut down
• Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Victoria,
Edmonton, etc. have talked about the need for
supervised injection, but none have been able
to make it happen.
NIMBYism trumping legal rights?
• Ottawa, Toronto resist call for supervised
injection sites – Globe and Mail, April 11, 2012
– Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair’s view that these sites will threaten public
safety “comes from personal experience and from discussion with
senior police leaders from around the world,” said police spokesman
Mark Pugash. “This is not something he can support.”
– Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson… said late last year he opposes a
supervised injection site. Although previous administrations at
Toronto’s city hall have supported harm reduction methods, Mayor Rob
Ford is no fan of supervised injection sites.
Who makes decisions about what is
appropriate health care?
• Zoning bylaws restrict access to methadone treatment.
• Fixed-site needle exchange in Victoria shut after public,
media pressure.
• Abbotsford bans harm reduction outright through zoning
• Challenging restrictions on access to healthcare by
municipalities on human rights grounds
Sex work decriminalization
(& access to justice)
• Bedford v. Canada
• SWUAV v. Canada
Fighting mandatory minimums
• Mandatory sentences raise constitutional and
human rights issues
– Disproportionate impact to Aboriginal people,
drug users, women, and low-income people
– Cruel and unusual punishment
– Infringement of liberty contrary to fundamental
justice
– Developing legal strategies around challenges
Fighting for needle exchange in prison
• In September, an individual and four
organizations sued the federal government for
failing to provide NSP in prison
• Are there violations of equality and protection
of life, liberty and security of the person?
• Want court oversight of implementing
program
• Pivot is applying to intervene in a coalition
Fighting for Heroin Assisted Therapy
• NAOMI (North Amerian Opiate Maintenance
Initiative)
– 2005-2008  injectable heroin (96 people)
• SALOME (2011-2014)  injectable/oral
heroin/dialudid (322 participants)
Ethical issues of SALOME
• “Dual testing” of experimental drugs
• Cutting participants off treatment that
is demonstrating benefits
– No “exit strategy”
– Bottom line is that research participants
are arguably worse off than before
participation
• Raising ethical issues and pressuring
investigators to retain participants
Advocacy for HAT
• Developing community and government
support to set up pilot program around heroin
therapy
• Lobbying of municipal government, province,
and health authority
• Working with drug users and support
community to stand up for ethical treatment
Fighting for rights of people kicked off
• First SALOME patients are due to be kicked off
of treatment in January
• Legal challenges for each participant
The Legal Fight for Harm Reduction
Portland, November 17, 2012
Scott Bernstein, Lawyer
Health and Drug Policy Campaign
scott@pivotlegal.org
@scott_bern
Pivot Legal Society
www.pivotlegal.org