CHILLIWACK NO PLACE FOR INJECTION SITE

As a typical Canadian, it's my birthright to be totally opposed to a
political course of action and do nothing about it.

However, in good conscience I simply cannot stand by and allow this
wave of misplaced concern over the extension and likely expansion of
the drug injection sites.

I have tried to avoid a knee-jerk reaction to a program that has
proven to do absolutely nothing to eliminate the problem of drug use,
and has, by their proponents' own admission not converted a single
'user' since the programs inception - not even a confirmation of
'reduced dependency' and yet managed to spend millions of taxpayer
dollars in the interim.

I wanted to ensure that this reply wasn't a 'rant' so I've carefully
listened to the news broadcast of Vancouver's mayors both past and
present, earnestly trying to understand their view point. I have even
talked at good length with the UCFV criminologist who was hired to do
the study, and whose recommendation it was to continue and expand the
program.

Here is my understanding of 'that' point of view:

It's all about 'harm reduction.' It's about giving the addicts clean
needles to shoot with so that they don't get/transfer hepatitis, AIDS
or any other exotic blood borne disease. It's about saving lives due
to drug overdoses (and apparently drug overdoses happen with some
frequency even in a supervised environment, go figure.)

It's not clear to me that an 'overdose' necessarily means 'death,' but
to the credit of the site, its roughly 250 overdoses a year have
translated to zero deaths.

And who could argue against this you ask? Saving lives? Motherhood?
Apple pie?

First, let's be clear. Not one of these poor wretched souls has been
cured, despite all of the rhetoric about the fact that they have a
counselling facility at the site.

Harm reduction? Why not harm 'elimination?' There are those who might
argue that a 'tough love' approach won't work. I say let's try; the
results can't be any worse than what we have here,and the 'optics' are
far more palatable.

In addition when we speak of harm reduction, I would like to see that
term applied to those citizens of the province who have chosen to live
a drug-free life despite their hardships. Harm reduction as applied to
these citizens might just mean a reduction of the violence, crime and
loss of personal property, events that can all be tied directly to
drug related dependence.

When I refer to 'optics' I'm speaking not just as a 'taxpayer,' I'm
speaking as a parent. It's difficult enough for a parent to try and
discourage young adults from going down that path, but when you have
'nice tidy clean place to go do your drugs' compliments of the city,
it takes something away from the old scare argument that 'you'll come
and visit them in jail every other Thursday when they get caught.'

I believe the whole concept of encouraging this drug use behaviour
lacks conscience on the part of those people who have implemented this
program.They are, after all, in a position to resolve the problem, not
extend it. If this were some Third World country that did not have the
resources and infrastructure to help these people maybe I could see
the point of condemning them to a life of dependency (e.g. safe
injection sites)But the reality is this is Canada! We have a social
service or safety net for every imaginable life crises.

But here's the rub: you've got to 'want' to get better.

I blame a program like this for 'taking away' from that 'want'
factor.

You're hopelessly hooked on the drug of your choice (and these sites
have a smorgasbord of choice) your conscience tells you this is not a
good thing but the city has made it so damned convenient the only
'want' factor here is more drugs and there served up compliments of
you and me.

Several years ago in my capacity as a Realtor, I was asked to find a
location for Chilliwack's new needle exchange. The purveyor was well
rehearsed and he did a good job of dispensing with my 'shallow'
concerns for the better good of society. Since then I am sorry to
report that all of my misgivings about this program have been brought
home to me by stories from various local merchants who have had to
suffer loss of business or worse.

I feel that unless we individually speak to this issue of injection
sites we could be passively inviting that door to open right here in
Chilliwack.

But remember, it's your birth right, as a Canadian to, just turn the
page and read the funnies.