By Adam Reiss
CNN
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (CNN) -- I didn't know quite what to expect when I entered the injection room at Insite, the world's busiest supervised drug clinic.
Inside the Vancouver facility, I found more than a dozen people taking illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, under the watchful eye of trained nurses. These drug users were among the more than 700 people who visit the facility every day, bringing their drugs with them.
Insite's goal is to reduce the risk of overdose and limit the spread of diseases like HIV by giving addicts clean needles and a safe place to use them.
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Outside of the clinic, police patrolled the streets to keep people from buying and selling illegal drugs. Inside, patrons were given access to Insite's clean needles, injection booths and nurses. Similar facilities can be found at 65 locations in eight different countries.
San Francisco health officials recently held a day-long conference on the Vancouver drug clinic, with an eye toward possibly opening a similar one. But San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city is unlikely to do so.
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more:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/29/drug.clinic/index.html?iref=topnewshttp://www.vch.ca/sis/eta link
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