COLUMN BY HOY RAISES IRE OF READERS (3 of 3)

Claire Hoy fails to consider that harm reduction interventions like
Vancouver's Insite safeinjection facility reduce harm not just among
drug users, but among the population as a whole.

Look no further than Canada's southern neighbor for tragic examples of
what can happen when governments declare all out war on drug users.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate that 57 percent
of AIDS cases among women and 36 percent of overall AIDS cases in the
U.S. are linked to injection drug use or sex with partners who inject
drugs.

This preventable public health crisis is a direct result of zero
tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes.

Can Canada really afford to emulate the harm maximization approach of
the former land of the free and current record holder in citizens
incarcerated?

CDC stats can be verified at: www.cdc.gov/ hiv/pubs/
facts/idu.htm

ROBERT SHARPE, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy www.csdp.org

Washington, DC