SAFE INJECTION SITES ARE ANYTHING BUT

Re: InSite And Harm Reduction Work, Liz Evans, May 12.

To declare there is scientific evidence -- "reams of it" --
supporting the validity of InSite's work, and then not quote any of
it is typical of the proponents of discredited ideologies, failed
policies and gigantic self-interest. The April, 2008, Report of the
Expert Advisory Committee on InSite indicates the failure of the
approach: Less than 5% of all injections occur at InSite; less than
10% of users do all of their injections at InSite; the supervised
injection site may prevent one death by drug overdose per year (based
on a five-year-long operation); there are still 50 overdose deaths
per year in the Downtown Eastside; no improvement in the rate of
addiction has been found; and there is no direct evidence that InSite
influences overdose death rates, or rates of infection.

Further, free needle distribution has produced alarming results: The
rate of HIV infections in Vancouver has increased by more than 20%,
despite the fact that the city dispenses the largest amount of
needles in Canada; users of the free needle program in Montreal show
twice the rate of HIV infection compared to non-users; areas where
harm reduction programs are located register the highest property
crime rates in all of Vancouver.

We who have experienced the fallout of harm reduction programs in our
neighbourhood are appalled at the hypocrisy of the arguments in
favour of the supervised injections sites.

Eva Curlanis-Bart, president, Garden District Residents Association, Toronto.