DEVASTATED LIVES

The international and national dimensions of prohibition, exposed so
brilliantly by Dan Gardner in his series, "How America dictates the global
war on drugs," are at work in a neighbourhood near you. As a health care
worker in the Downtown Eastside, I daily see the effects of the war on
drugs.

My work brings me into contact with addicts whose lives have been devastated
by HIV and hepatitis. Last week I witnessed a man grieving the loss of his
young friend who had died from a heroin overdose. Tragic though his story
is, there is hope that with the right policies and programs, medical and
social harm associated with drug use can be reduced.

The women and men who call upon my services are stigmatized and thrown to
the margins of society by policies of prohibition. Their plight demands
action to address what is a clear and present danger to them and to society
at large. In Europe programs such as heroin prescription and safe injection
sites (health rooms) have been shown to work, reducing the risk of overdose
and disease transmission while stabilizing the lives of addicts who make use
of them.

Simplistic solutions such as increased law enforcement or abstinence-only
treatment programs will not help. There is little sign that politicians or
bureaucrats are considering either fundamental legislative changes or a
comprehensive range of services. Action of this kind is needed now.
Otherwise the victims of the war on drugs will continue to suffer
discrimination, poverty and death.

Andrew Larcombe

Board member, Harm Reduction Action Society