NEEDLE EXCHANGE CLOSURE HURTS CITY

I have noticed some unfortunate changes since the Cormorant Street
needle exchange closed its doors to our community's most vulnerable
citizens. The most noticeable of these changes is the proliferation of
used needles along the prescribed route of the mobile needle exchange
vehicle.

Over the past couple of weeks, the flowerbeds in front of the gym
where I exercise have become a daily depository of discarded hypos.
The needles are not just a nuisance; they are a potentially deadly
biohazard.

It is unreasonable to expect that addicts will return their used
needles when we make it difficult for them to access the required services.

This of course says nothing of the human cost involved in relegating
the sick and desperate to the shadows in an attempt to cleanse
downtown of our visible failures as a community.

Dylan Rovere

Victoria