SMELL OF GANG IN OUR BUS SHELTERS

Re: A Smarter War On Drugs, editorial, June 3; Vancouver Drug Deaths on the
Rise, letter to the editor, June 13.

The Post's editorial board has done an admirable job noting the
failures of the so-called "war on drugs." Unfortunately, some drug
enforcement advocates skew the facts regarding alternatives, including
the positive impacts of Vancouver's supervised injecting facility.
Reports published by independent scientific groups from the University
of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser
University have all demonstrated that the program saves tax dollars by
reducing HIV infections and other harms.

The statistics presented in the June 13 letter from the Drug
Prevention Network included suicides, alcohol-related overdoses and
other fatalities that are not related to the supervised injecting
facility. A recent study published in the Lancet medical journal
demonstrated that overdose deaths due to drug injecting near Insite
are down dramatically.

Sadly, critics ignore the public health gains attributable to the
Insite program, including over 17,000 successful referrals to
addiction treatment made by Insite's staff.

Dr. Julio Montaner

Director, B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

Vancouver.