CONTAINING ADDICTS DOWNTOWN NOT A SOLUTION

To the Editor,

My name is Ilan Goldenblatt, I own The Thirsty Camel Cafe, on
Victoria Crescent. A few weeks ago I was interviewed by the News
Bulletin regarding the drug problems of the Victoria Crescent/China
Steps area. I'd like to clarify a few things.

I believe in a harm reduction approach to drugs.

Drugs have been part of the human condition for thousands of years
and prohibition has done nothing to stem the problem. We will never
have a drug-free society or city, and must not spend tax dollars
aimed at achieving that impossible goal.

We need to manage the problem in order to minimize its harm.

First lets define what the problem consists of:

- - Open drug sales on the streets including dealers approaching
pedestrians and shoppers. - Open drug use on the street. - Spread of
diseases due to needle sharing. - Drug-related crime: addicts
breaking into cars and homes, shoplifting, etc. in order to procure
enough money for their next fix. - Garbage and refuse related to
people using the street as their bedroom. - Waste of tax dollars on
police budgets, court and jail expenses.

How can we minimize these problems? Bigger police budgets are not the answer.

On the contrary, every year we spend more tax dollars on prohibition
and every year the problem gets worse.

What we need is a creative, bold, radical, new approach. Smaller
police budgets and bigger social services and health care budgets
would be a good start.

After a year and a half of owning a business right in the heart of
the problem, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the policy
practiced by the RCMP with my tax dollars is one of containment.

Rather than fighting the downtown drug problem, the RCMP are making
sure the problem stays in the Victoria Crescent/China Steps area and
does not migrate to other parts of town.

I am not against containment in principle.

I only challenge the chosen location.

I propose that a different location be found, one not in a commercial
or residential area. In that new location we can situate a homeless
shelter, a soup kitchen, a safe consumption room (not just for IV
drug users), a community health clinic and a needle exchange.

And if we want to stop drug-related crime we can start an experiment
with drug maintenance programs.

We can provide addicts with free, clean drugs as long as they are
willing to meet with a counsellor twice a week.

The user will find drugs and the money needed to buy them, whether we
help them or not.

If we supply them with drugs they will not need to commit crimes to
procure them, and they will not risk using dirty needles or tainted drugs.

These few suggestions would tackle most of the specific problems I
listed above.

Until the city/RCMP policy changes from containing the problem in
front of my business, to containing it someplace else, the least the
city can do is not have the audacity to charge me municipal business
taxes to fund a program that is harming my business.

Ilan Goldenblatt,

Thirsty Camel Cafe,

Nanaimo