CHAMBER'S VIEWS ON ADDICTION DISTURBING

I am surprised and disturbed that the Victoria Chamber of Commerce
and its members have voted against the idea of trial safe injection
sites for our city.

I can't understand why the chamber is failing the public and
businesses of Victoria by speaking against harm-reduction methods
that may prove to be useful and effective for public-health and
drug-addiction issues in our city. The safe-injection sites supported
by our city council are not in themselves a solution, but are
possibly a step in the right direction.

Common sense dictates it is pointless to invest endless taxpayers'
funds into stronger law enforcement and larger jails; you only have
to look south of the border to see the effects of that strategy. The
United States has among the highest incarceration rate of its
citizens jailed for the use of drugs and still has high drug addiction rates.

Our society needs to support new and innovative methods that may help
contribute to a better understanding of drug addiction. We've got
nothing to lose and much to gain by trying new ideas that may help
solve the same old problems.

Barry Carvish,

Victoria.