MAYOR CAMPBELL'S PRIORITIES ARE UNSAFE

I find it telling that Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell is "irked" at the
resources being directed at the SARS disease.

I too am concerned for the residents of the Downtown Eastside who are
victims of substance abuse, mental illness, HIV/AIDS and the hepatitis scourge.

What the mayor seems not to recognize is that SARS has the potential to
become an uncontrollable epidemic, if it hasn't already done so. We must
recognize that SARS seems to be transmitted by much more casual contact
than the other diseases of concern here.

In terms of safe-injection sites, my question is, For whom are they safe?
Certainly not the people who are victimized to provide money to buy drugs
to be taken at a "safe" injection site.

I would not be so concerned with "safe" injection sites if the Health
Authority provided the drugs for the site as they now do with methadone.

Everett B. MacKenzie

Richmond