EDITORIAL WAS RIGHT ON

Your May 14th editorial on the meddling of U.S. drug warriors was right on
target. Safe injection sites have been proven to reduce the spread of HIV
without increasing drug use. They 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. Center for Disease Control researchers estimate that 57 per cent of
AIDS cases among women and 36 per cent 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 drug policies of the former land of the free
and current record holder in citizens incarcerated?
*www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/idu

Robert Sharpe
Drug Policy Alliance
Washington, DC