SENATOR CAMPBELL DISCUSSES THE POLITICS OF DRUG ABUSE

This past Wednesday, former Vancouver mayor, Senator Larry Campbell
spoke to UW students at a near full BMH auditorium. He was one of the
most influential politicians in the decision to build Insite, a
pro-social and progressive safe injection site in Vancouver.

He began with a description of the four-pillar approach to ending drug
abuse employed by so many health facilities, including Insite -- the
supervised injection site that opened in September 2003. Campbell
explained that "the system is based on treatment, law enforcement,
harm reduction and prevention -- which all stem from the basic goals
of the facility." As a former Canadian mountie narc, Campbell is no
stranger to the severely detrimental effects of drug abuse -- and in
particular, injectable drugs like heroin and cocaine.

His decision to pay more attention appeared to be out of his control,
though, as it stemmed from a sharp rise in overdose fatalities in 1981
- -- many of which he personally dealt with as chief coroner. Campbell
darkly recounted that he would frequently "walk into a room, only to
find two people dead on the ground with needles still in their arm."
His horrific and compelling anecdotes put a very vivid image to the
undeniable drug problem Canada, and Vancouver in particular, is
currently facing.

Instead of lingering on negativity, he quickly lightened things up
with a counter-intuitive explanation of the drug industry.

According to the Senator, it is a business in which "you make a better
product, but you end up killing the client -- which in my opinion, is
bad business," in reference to the cruel criminals who peddle
expensive 90 per cent pure heroin.

This is just one of the problems that Campbell hoped to solve with
Insite.

Stephen Harper's concerns with the medically supervised injection site
were apparently much more legal in nature, as his main question for
Senator Campbell was "Are they illegal?" Campbell sarcastically
declared that he was "happy to learn that the Prime Minister had
Canada's health as a priority." What could Harper possibly consider
illegal about a place in which the worst things provided are syringes,
spoons and cotton balls -- when all of which can be freely purchased
at a local pharmacy?

The way Campbell sees it, far too much emphasis is placed on law
enforcement when the prime issue of health promotion and disease
prevention lies right before our eyes. It was clear that he found it
ironic that "70 per cent of our money goes into law enforcement
instead of much more important areas like health care." Even more
surprising is the disproportionate amount of research and financial
support from federal and provincial governments that goes into alcohol
and tabacco related issues.

According to Campbell, the conservative government thinks "second hand
smoke is a much greater worry than sudden death from drug overdose."

Campbell does not let this discourage him, though, and continues to
strive for widespread recognition of the strong effect drug abuse has
on society -- even amongst a largely ignorant and scientifically
uneducated conservative backdrop. Campbell explained that "everything
we do there is based on science." They are able to experimentally
determine the effects of various combinations of methadone and heroin
on drug addiction, treatment and health.

Though, he assured us that "this type of testing is only for the
deepest of addicts who have been like that for a number of years, and
have tried multiple times to quit to no avail."

Based on the fact that most drug users' problems lie in their ability
to inject the sordid substances intravenously, health practitioners
frequently assist them in finding a proper vein or even in injecting
it for them. This promotes safety and saves many lives normally lost
to poor technique. Many politicians have expressed their anxieties
about teaching proper technique to drug users, declaring that it will
likely encourage further drug use. All Campbell wanted to do, though,
was "keep people from dying, and contracting HIV or other
needle-related illnesses."

In reference to Insite's lucrative success, Campbell explained that
contrary to popular belief, in the months after its September 2003
inception, "public disorder was measurably down." This seems
insignificant, though, when compared to the numerous lives saved at
the facility. Campbell estimated that "out of about 400 overdoses --
ranging from mild oxygen deprivation to deep convulsive trouble on the
floor -- not one person died at Insite." It sort of seems trivial how
all this immeasurable benefit can come from a small room containing
nothing but eight mirrors, eight chairs, a bunch of cheap medical
equipment and some help from the right people.

Campbell's bleak view of contemporary Canadian society was illustrated
best by his criticism of the current federal government and the sole
fact that "drug addicts and people with mental illness are living on
our street -- and we aren't doing a thing about it."

Before coming to an end, discussion turned to the current state of
drug abuse in Vancouver. He pointed out that "referral to addiction
treatment is up in recent years and so is the use of the
health-conscious services Insite provides." To some this may be
perceived as evidence of an ever-increasing drug problem, but to
others, it is clear proof that more drug users are putting their
health above the dirty convenience of getting high in the nearest back
alley.

Campbell hopes that society will move towards a health model based on
equality, prevention and education. Perhaps then, ignorant prejudices
will be replaced by the more accurate and scientific mental health
model of drug addiction.

After that, Canadians can begin to be proud to say they come from one
of the most health-conscious and progressive nations of the world.