INSITE HAS PUBLIC HEALTH DUTY TO MINIMIZE HARM TO SOCIETY

In Drug injection facilities indirectly aid criminal acts (SP, Aug.
25), Frances Farness-Petit asks relevant questions and raises valid
concerns. She would do well to find out why so many residents and
shop owners in Vancouver support Insite. She asks if it is even
possible to buy these injection drugs legally. Insite staff are
acutely aware that their clients don't obtain injection drugs via
legal means. Frankly, that's not Insite's concern from a public
health perspective.

Whether or not Insite exists, the drug retailers will ply their trade
despite law enforcement efforts. There isn't a single demonstrable
example of successful prohibition in even a relatively free nation.

Insite's purpose isn't to eliminate drug sellers, but to decrease the
need for them by helping users kick the habit. It is also a good
place to make sure that injection drug users don't simply die of an
overdose behind your home in an alley.

There hasn't been a single overdose death at Insite. There have been
overdose episodes, and so as a public health provider, the facility
certainly has saved lives. Just as a clean needle exchange seeks to
improve public health, Insite seeks to do the same via a more
advanced approach.

Rather than aid dealers by providing a safe injection place for drug
users, Insite does the opposite.

By referring patients to rehabilitation, it offers an environment
where someone may kick the habit because they want the help to do so.

Instead of dreaming about a drug-free utopia, it may be wiser for
Farness-Petit to accept that drugs are a part of our world and try to
minimize the harm they can do to our society. Facilities such as
Insite help us to achieve this, and should be well supported by the
private community.

Ethan Erkiletian

Saskatoon