TORY DRUG STRATEGY NEEDS A DOSE OF COMMON SENSE

Dear Editor:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to stop putting politics before
public health (Tories Cause Needle-less Suffering, Feb. 19). Harm
reduction intervention like Vancouver's Insite safe injection site
have been shown to reduce the spread of HIV without increasing drug
use. They also serve as a bridge to drug treatment for an especially
hard-to-reach population.

Drug users are not the only beneficiaries. Look no further than the
United States for tragic examples of anti-drug strategies that are
best avoided. U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate
that 57 per cent of AIDS cases among women and 36 per cent of overall
AIDS cases in the U.S. are linked to injection drug use or sex with
partners who inject drugs. This preventable public health crisis is a
direct result of zero-tolerance laws that restrict access to clean
syringes.

Can Canada afford to emulate the harm maximization approach of the
former Land of the Free and current record holder in citizens
incarcerated?

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy