FOUR PILLAR FAILURE

Regular readers will know what I think of pretend "needle exchange"
programs where dirty needles are thrown on the street, or unsafe
"safe injection sites" where dirty street junk is injected with
nursing supervision. The whole thing in Vancouver looks like a
government agency set up to work in conjunction with the heroin and
cocaine dealers who control the street outside.

The prescription heroin trial that's currently going on in Vancouver
offers more potential, at least for a few hardcore addicts who don't
respond to methadone treatment. This type of program is the closest
this country is going to get to legalization in the near future, and
it can be done without the national and international political
backlash that would kill a bolder program.