CLEMENT SHOULD CONSIDER A NEW LINE OF WORK

Re: MPs Push for Safe Heroin Injection Sites, Dec. 10.

Tony Clement claims Ontario will not open safe drug-injection sites as long
as he is Ontario's Health Minister. Perhaps he should consider a new line
of work. 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. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate that 57% of AIDS
cases among women and 36% of overall AIDS cases in the United States 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 drug policies of the former land of the free, which is the current
record holder in citizens incarcerated?

Robert Sharpe, program officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.