VANCOUVER (CBC) - Plans for a controversial prescription heroin study has been been given tentative approval by Health Canada.
The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) wants to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade heroin to 150 users for two years.

Backers of the project want to determine whether it would be more effective than treating users with methadone alone.

The City of Vancouver and the Vancouver police have endorsed the proposal.

While Ottawa has given the project approval-in-principle, federal officials are still studying the safety and security requirements.

The study will be held in the the city's Downtown Eastside, where it has run into opposition from some businesses and residents.

B.C.'s medical officer of health, Dr. Perry Kendall, has defended the project – noting that a similar study in Holland showed that when addicts know they're going to get their fix, they stop their criminal activity.

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