[Vancouver Sun Editorial Introduction:
While many professionals endorse safe injection sites and clean needles for
drug addicts, other counsellors think a combination of jail and treatment
is the best answer]

ON PINS AND NEEDLES, 4 of 5

As someone who has seen a comprehensive harm reduction program in action, I
can only shake my head when reading the speculative comments made by your
readers. Time and time again, I read about "enabling" health programs such
as safe injection sites. If safe injection sites and other harm reduction
programs were so enabling of drug use, Germany would be overrun with drug
users. But instead, there are now fewer drug users and drug-related
problems in Germany.

The truth is that harm reduction works, especially when it is supported by
prevention, treatment and innovative approaches to enforcement. The problem
is that the public and politicians in Vancouver have been listening to the
advice of police officers like Al Arsenault for too long. All we have to do
is look south of the border to realize how helpful that sort of advice is.
Let's stop speculating and start acknowledging the evidence.

Guido Thylmann

Vancouver