News (Media Awareness Project) - CN ON: PUB LTE: Drug Clinics Have Plenty Of Benefits |
| Title: | CN ON: PUB LTE: Drug Clinics Have Plenty Of Benefits |
| Published On: | 2004-10-07 |
| Source: | Gazette, The (London, CN ON Edu) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-17 22:08:38 |
DRUG CLINICS HAVE PLENTY OF BENEFITS
Re: "Shooting down, shooting up," Sept. 29, 2004
To the Editor:
Your editorial "Shooting down shooting up" stated that the safe
injection facility in Vancouver condones drug use by creating "a
sanctuary to experiment," and law enforcement is needed instead. We
disagree.
Although intravenous drug use is illegal and the ideal goal is to stop
its use entirely, your suggestion that police should use the safe
injection facility as a means to arrest drug users and traffickers
would not be productive. In 2003, a police crackdown on illicit drug
use in Vancouver, costing 2.3-million tax dollars, did not decrease
the frequency of drug use or increase enrollment in rehabilitation
programs.
Safe injection facilities do not provide sanctuaries for
experimentation because drug use can and will occur anywhere.
Substance dependence and abuse are medical disorders that are
prevalent worldwide; individuals will use drugs irrespective of the
presence of safe injection facilities. Social disadvantage,
pre-existing psychiatric illness and family history -- along with
personal choice -- are much more important risk factors.
Research done in Vancouver's safe injection facility shows no increase
in the number of drug dealers in the area of the clinic over the year
it has been open. The new safe injection facility neither condones
drug use nor creates a market for increased drug trafficking, but
simply addresses an ongoing societal problem.
Safe injection facilities reduce the transmission of HIV and treat
onsite medical emergencies such as overdoses, thereby saving
taxpayers' money. Social services are also able to counsel the most
marginalized drug users, referring them to rehabilitation programs
which normally reach a much smaller fraction of drug users directly.
Elimination of drug use is difficult, but until we figure out how to
effectively address the issue, harm reduction through safe injection
clinics is an essential supplement to rehabilitation programs.
Nancy Dzaja & Daren Lin,
Medicine II
Re: "Shooting down, shooting up," Sept. 29, 2004
To the Editor:
Your editorial "Shooting down shooting up" stated that the safe
injection facility in Vancouver condones drug use by creating "a
sanctuary to experiment," and law enforcement is needed instead. We
disagree.
Although intravenous drug use is illegal and the ideal goal is to stop
its use entirely, your suggestion that police should use the safe
injection facility as a means to arrest drug users and traffickers
would not be productive. In 2003, a police crackdown on illicit drug
use in Vancouver, costing 2.3-million tax dollars, did not decrease
the frequency of drug use or increase enrollment in rehabilitation
programs.
Safe injection facilities do not provide sanctuaries for
experimentation because drug use can and will occur anywhere.
Substance dependence and abuse are medical disorders that are
prevalent worldwide; individuals will use drugs irrespective of the
presence of safe injection facilities. Social disadvantage,
pre-existing psychiatric illness and family history -- along with
personal choice -- are much more important risk factors.
Research done in Vancouver's safe injection facility shows no increase
in the number of drug dealers in the area of the clinic over the year
it has been open. The new safe injection facility neither condones
drug use nor creates a market for increased drug trafficking, but
simply addresses an ongoing societal problem.
Safe injection facilities reduce the transmission of HIV and treat
onsite medical emergencies such as overdoses, thereby saving
taxpayers' money. Social services are also able to counsel the most
marginalized drug users, referring them to rehabilitation programs
which normally reach a much smaller fraction of drug users directly.
Elimination of drug use is difficult, but until we figure out how to
effectively address the issue, harm reduction through safe injection
clinics is an essential supplement to rehabilitation programs.
Nancy Dzaja & Daren Lin,
Medicine II
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