'DEAD PEOPLE CANNOT RECOVER FROM ADDICTION'

Recent letters to the Times Colonist have expressed skepticism over
approaches under review in Victoria that are aimed at reducing both
the social and the individual harms that result from addiction. One
of these letters characterized the approach as "lunacy." Perhaps the
writer is unaware of third-party scientific evaluations that show how
the Vancouver approach (among others) has pragmatically improved
conditions for some users and the communities in which they live.

Approaches that reduce public disorder while improving health status
and preventing deaths would seem to be eminently sensible, rather
than "lunatic."

Unfortunately we have no "magic bullet" for addiction. Therefore, it
is important to minimize the harms of problematic substance use. Dead
people cannot recover from addiction.

Health Canada has funded a scientific evaluation of Vancouver's
supervised-injection site. To date, the evaluations are generally
positive as to the ability of the site to attract and retain
high-risk users, positively affect their behaviours (including
detoxification referral rates and binge drug use), and to improve
public safety in the community. The site has not attracted additional
users or had other demonstrable adverse impacts.

The majority of supervised-injection site users tend to be the most
marginalized and socially disadvantaged injection drug users. Studies
have found that those who use these sites are more likely to be
long-term injection drug users with unstable living conditions, low
income and a history of incarceration.

These sites provide an important opportunity to link this
hard-to-reach population with health care and addiction treatment services.

Harm reduction focuses on keeping people safe and minimizing death,
disease and injury associated with higher risk behaviour, while
recognizing that the behaviour may continue despite the risks.

For supervised injection sites, this means preventing overdose
deaths, stopping the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, linking
marginalized people to health-care services and reducing the impacts
that addiction has on communities.

Dr. Perry Kendall

Provincial Health Officer.