SAFE INJECTION HELPS US ALL

I'd like to end the misunderstanding of what harm reduction means in
the context of Insite. Harm reduction doesn't mean reducing harm to
the addict, although that's a beneficial side-effect, but reducing
harm to the public.

In a country with social health care where we all have to pay for
each other's illnesses, the cost of a clean syringe can offset the
cost of treating illnesses which, depending on the infection, can be
upward of $100,000 per individual. More importantly, imagine a
scenario where an addict becomes infected with an illness and
unknowingly passes it on to someone else, who then passes it on to
someone else.

The people, including our federal government, which is fundamentally
(morally?) opposed to giving addicts free, clean needles for their
benefit need to reconsider the issue from a more selfish standpoint.
It's not about helping addicts, it's about helping ourselves.

Earson Gibson

Victoria