TOP COURT HEARS PROS, CONS ON HEROIN-INJECTION SITE

If the Supreme Court of Canada decides Insite, a Vancouver-based
health-care facility in the city's downtown eastside, falls under
provincial jurisdiction, similar 'safe' injection sites could become a
reality in cities across the country.

And soon would begin the downward spiral further blurring the lines
between right and wrong, legal and illegal in this country.

Insite offers, among other things, the option for drug users to shoot
up under the watchful eye of a nurse.

Forget for a moment the ongoing war on drugs, and forget for a moment
that selling drugs is illegal, using drugs is illegal, and there is a
facility in existence in this country that not only turns a blind eye
to both of these facts. Insite chooses to not only condone the use of
injection drugs but offers medical supervision so as to ensure that
the users can continue to break the law --safely.

The argument for these facilities appears to be that providing a
location for medically supervised drug use, deaths can be prevented.

Surely, injection drug users and most certainly drug dealers live
every day under the potential penalty of death. Surely, they are aware
of the realities of their choices. Sharing needles does increase the
risk of HIV and overdosing does increase the risk of death, not to
mention the risks associated with buying drugs off the street.

What is the message to drug dealers when our cities go from trying to
rid our streets of drugs, to providing safe shelters and medical staff
to oversee the illegal drug use?

In the 10 years before Insite opened in Vancouver there were more than
2,000 drug overdoses.

Since the facility has opened, there have been about 2,400 overdoses,
but no deaths have resulted.

Clearly the fundamental problem isn't going away. Drug users continue
to use drugs and the dealers who peddle death by injection are getting
a lot more repeat business as a result of the good work of the medical
professionals ensuring that those individuals who overdose are revived
to use another day.

If we want to prevent needless deaths, we need to address the root
problems and causes. We should not be telling the next generation of
kids to "just say no to drugs... and if you can't, don't worry we'll
provide you with a nurse so you can be safe when you shoot up."