FOR MANY ADDICTS, INSITE IS THE ANSWER

I am going to assume that letter-writer C. Gwendolyn Landolt has not
actually visited Insite in Vancouver. Considering her position as the
president of the Drug Prevention Network, I personally look upon it as
an obligation to do so.

To suggest that the research backing Insite is biased only serves to
continue the cycle of misinformation and miscommunication that has
dogged Insite since its conception. The New England Journal of
Medicine, The Lancet and the Canadian Medical Association Journal have
all released articles approving of Insite -would Ms. Landolt like to
call their integrity into question as well? For that matter, the B.C.
Nurses Union and the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS have also
affirmed the validity of care and interventions of Insite. Are they
also to be called into question as legitimate bodies of knowledge on
the subject?

I also take issue with Ms. Landolt's statement that "drug addicts are
human beings who deserve better than a drug-injection site which only
leads to an early and horrific death." Yes, drug addicts are human
beings who deserve the same care and respect and humane treatment as
everyone else; ironically, in contradiction to her statement, they
themselves are the ones who are asking for, and are the biggest
supporters of, places like Insite.

The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and its president, Dean
Wilson, are loud and proud supporters of Insite and have been since
the beginning.

Margaret Lane

Montreal.