THE INSIDE DOPE ON DRUGS

As a physician who has treated injection drug users
for eight years, I disagree that harm reduction is a failure when it
comes to reducing drug use and addiction. This is like decrying the
use of Band-Aids because they don't prevent cuts.

As long as governments spend their money on "the War on Drugs,"
addiction will remain a problem. To continue the metaphor, it's like
promoting a "War on Sharp Objects" to prevent people cutting themselves.

Insofar as anything can be said to "cause" addiction, the fact that
most of my patients have experienced child abuse, neglect and poverty
suggests these would be more worthy of prevention, rather than pouring
money into prosecuting and punishing people who are already struggling
with a problem that appears to be based in brain chemistry.

Adam Newman, MD

Kingston, Ont