Camden Drugs & Alchohol services face the axe to make way for animal lab.

Last year residents held meetings with Camden councillers, MPs, residents, local business people etc in opposition to the proposed virus containment facilities and animal testing labs planned for Camden dubbed the "28 Days Later" labs by the press following safety warnings from MI6, MI5 and the embarassing fact that the consortium behind the labs, one of which will be a few footsteps away from St Pancras International / Eurostar forgot to consult or inform British Transport Police {we know most people don't like "going to the cops"...but we are a little surprised at the MRC led consortium behaving like street drug dealers...; ) }....

Follow up meetings have taken place throughout the year with the Somers Town Peoples Forum campaigning for council homes to be built on the sites in Camden where 15,000 people on a housing waiting list.

While many people are aware of the plans to build a massive "superlab" in Somers Town Kings Cross few realise that a second lab is planned for Hampstead Road next to the Regents Park estate....on the site of the old National Temperance Hospital and the Margarete Centre. This means that Camden's 4,200 addicts could have their treatment interrupted or even stopped which could force many back onto street drugs. {Heroin is physically addictive and withdrawal symptoms are severe, methadone withdrawals are worse...} That's over four thousand people without help.

Plans have been announced that a new needle exchange and advice cntre in Camden "could" open in the future are vague. Worse still Frank Dobson MP for Camden stated at a packed community meeting against the lab "I might not be able to stop the labs but at least I stopped the needle exchange which we find very worrying.

Interestingly the supporters of the MRC / NIMR / UCL / CRUK lab have attempted to brand camapigners against the lab as "mad" , "paranoid" , "fantasists" "nutters" etc who are "panicking".

This includes Mandy Ford from London Against Camden Danger Lab and Candy Udwin who have both been called "nutters".
We feel that if someone does indeed have mental ill health or drug / alchohol problems they have every right and reason to campaign as anyone else and under the current circumstances more so where the Maragarete Centre is concerned....and people who have tried to disregard the rights of these campaigners to be heard should be downright, utterly ashamed of themselves.

Other campaigners against the lab include :
Andrew Dismore MP for Hendon who has said "....a virus leak in Mill Hill where the current NIMR lab is would be nasty but if this were to happen in Kings Cross it would be even nastier".

Keith Mann : A highly respected and accomplished animal rights activist who has saved so many animals they cannot be counted and who was sent to prison for exposing an animal testing lab who were carrying out illegal cosmetic Botox experiments.

Benjamin Zephaniah : Offered the OBE {which he turned down} for his good work for people and animals.

If you have drug, alchol or mental health problems or are worried how the closure of the Margarete Centre might affect you or your loved ones you can contact :

Methadone Alliance
0207 299 4303 / 0845 1228608
32 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3QJ

 info@m-alliance.org.uk


Black Poppy Magazine
PO Box 33033
London
W9 3LT
0207 622 7770

Turning Point
Head Office
Standon House
21 Mansell Street
London
E1 8AA

or write to
Steven Brennan
London Against Camden Danger Lab
BM 8735
London
WC1N3XX

We are also looking for any artists affected by this who might want to contribute artwork to show how they feel about the lab, how this will you and the area and the animals. This can be anything as long as no threatening images are used.

For those who are concerned about animal cruelty

write to
London Animal Rights
BM 2636
London
WC1N3XX


The consortium behind the lab are :

Medical Research Council

NIMR

Wellcome Trust

UCL

CRUK

the consortium have appointed architects and engineers and will be applying for planning permission in the New Year. The architects and engineers are :

Architects : HOK at 216 Oxford Street London - ....who are the same architects who designed the Arsenal Stadium...{Arsenal can expect to hear chants of "28 DAYS LATER!" and "ZOMBIE VIRUS!" for years to come.....; )

Engineers : Arup at 8 Ftizrovia Street who laso provide soundproofing engineering...

Structural Engineers : Adams Kara Taylor who are based in Farringdon.


We will not accept any artwork that promotes violence to any of the above and we will not display any threatening or abusive images against anyone.