Vancouver Experiments With Prescription Heroin

VANCOUVER, CANADA - FEBRUARY 9: Phil Denbak, a long time heroin user, stands on East Hastings Street February 9, 2005 in Vancouver, Canada. Denbak hopes to qualify for the new prescription heroin project called NAOMI (North American Opiate Medication Initiative) in Vancouver. The North American Opiate Medication Initiative will enlist nearly 500 hard-to-treat addicts in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Toronto and Montreal. Half of the participants in the $8.1 million study will receive free, pharmaceutical-grade heroin for 12 months, which they will administer themselves in a clinic under medical supervision and the remaining half, the control group, will be given methadone, a synthetic narcotic that helps addicts overcome their heroin cravings and prevents symptoms of withdrawal. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)