Date: 30 September 2011
In its third successive court win against Government efforts to shut it down, Insite, North America’s only safe injection facility, has been allowed to remain open.
In a 9-0 unanimous verdict the Supreme Court ordered Canada’s Minister of Health to grant Insite the necessary exemption to the country’s drug laws to allow it to remain open.
The Court also set out criteria which should be considered in future such decisions, and stated that when a facility brings the kinds of benefits that Insite has displayed while not generating harms to public security, such exemptions should generally be given.
A case commentary from the lower courts appeared in the first volume of the International Journal on Human Rights and Drug Policy. A case commentary on this decision will appear in volume II.
The full decision may be read online at http://scc.lexum.org/en/2011/2011scc44/2011scc44.html
CBC News in Canada also has detailed coverage http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/09/29/bc-insite-supreme-court-ruling-advancer.html
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