DETOX AND INSITE BOTH GOOD WAYS TO DEAL WITH ADDICTION

Regarding opinions expressed in Jon Ferry's column on Last Door, an
80-bed recovery centre in New Westminster; why do detox advocates
relish taking cheap shots at harm-reduction efforts such as Insite
and yet we never hear Insite supporters criticize detox? Maybe it's
because harm reduction is a recognized first step toward detox and
both are on the same side. No conflict exists between the two other
than in the ignorant pronouncements of those who advocate for
punishing the addicted.

Those who fail to recognize the place of harm reduction in the
continuum of recovery are also in denial that we live in a society of
publicly funded health care.

We don't live in the "Live and Let Die" U.S. If we don't offer
harm-reducing measures, then we all pay for the consequences through
increased illness and hospital stays. This concept is much more
simple than the divisiveness outlined in Ferry's article.

Leo Cooper, Vancouver