NO NEED TO DELAY SAFE INJECTION SITES

TO THE EDITOR:

Re: Editorial - Jury still out on safe injection sites

Why wait for the results of one Vancouver pilot study when so many others
have already proven that safe injection sites that offer needle exchange
reduce the spread of HIV without increasing drug use?

It's important to note that safe injection sites also serve as a bridge to
drug treatment for an especially hard to reach population.

Drug users are not the only beneficiaries. Look no further than the United
States for tragic examples of anti-drug strategies that are best avoided.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate that 57 percent of
AIDS cases among women and 36 percent of overall AIDS cases in the U.S. are
linked to injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs.

This easily preventable public health crisis is a direct result of zero
tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes.

Can Canada afford to emulate the harm maximization approach of the former
land of the free and current record holder in citizens incarcerated?

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy