EDITORIAL: ACCESS TO CLEAN NEEDLES PARAMOUNT

A recent study recommends providing clean needles to drug addicts
incarcerated in Canadian prisons. The frightening results - published by
the Ontario Medical Association, in conjunction with the Canadian HIV/AIDS
Legal Network - of this study shows rates of HIV/AIDS and other
life-threatening diseases among inmates to be at least 10 times higher than
in the general population.

And while most are horrified at the thought of giving anything sharp to
inmates, let alone drug paraphernalia, we concur and must stress that this
is a health issue affecting the wider community.

Just as study after study proves young teens need access to sex education,
contraception and abstinence support in order to combat sexually
transmitted disease and unwanted pregnancy, drug addicts in prison and in
our community require medical attention - this means clean needles.

Some, including Abbotsford MP Randy White, believe drug addicts should not
be coddled, that they are criminals engaging in criminal acts, and
therefore deserve nothing more than a cold, hard cell and a good lock on
the door.

We wholeheartedly agree that convicted criminals should pay their debt and
illegal drug use in and outside of prison is wrong and should never be
condoned. However, Corrections Canada is already spending a great amount of
its limited resources on trying to stop drugs from getting inside, and like
all prison systems in the world, it is to no avail.

Despite this, there is one constant; these men and women will be back among
us. It may not be today, but at some point soon the majority will be
released. And if they are sick, we too, are sick, for they are our sons and
daughters, fathers and mothers. Whether we like it or not, their
shortcomings will come home to roost.

Either we begin to address this problem as the health issue it really is,
or we continue to keep our heads in the sand and hope these people either
die or move into some other community when they have paid their debt.

It is high time municipal, provincial and federal politicians address the
problem in and out of nearby institutions and find real solutions based on
fact - not on fear.

- - Rick Collins, editor