The only supervised safe drug injection site in North America for illegal drug users has again brought the political spot light to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. With the extreme controversy surrounding illegal drug use and safe injection sites, the Insite facility has been under continuous criticism since opening its doors to users in 2003. The facility was again under scrutiny; this time in the BC Court of Appeal. After the early February visit to the British Columbia Court of Appeal, a decision on whether or not to close the heavily used Insite facility was brought to a split ruling.
The Canadian Press released in an article hosted by Google News on February 9, 2010, that Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said on Tuesday that “the federal government will appeal a British Columbia court ruling that sanctioned Vancouver's supervised drug-injection site.” The report also mentions that “the federal government agrees that addicts need help, but believes the safe-injection site approach isn't the right solution.”
Whether you are a supporter of such a facility or not, do you not think that all the money spent on this facility for safe drug use and the court battle over whether or not to allow the site to stay open, might be better spent on other programs to rehabilitate
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g0Yq3tYhdmQcIprFDM4pDkTVfW6A
Comments
Your bias shows in the first line.
BTW, to get someone off drugs, they have to be alive. Dead people can't finish rehab. If you would drop your bias and actually take a look at InSite and ONSITE, which is their drug treatment facility for people who want to kick the habit, you would see that this is saving us millions in prevented HIV and HepC infections, not to mention other problems like overdoses. Give your head a shake!
I do apologize, 'Insite Works' for any misunderstanding of the subject and my use of words. I have edited the article since receiving your comment as I never intended to offend anyone with my writing. Again, apologies.
The goal of Insite is not to get people off drugs. Before Insite, thousands of addicts would be shooting up in the alleys, public restrooms etc. HIV and Hepatitis rates skyrocketed. There were many overdoses which put a strain on the health care system. Insite is mainly a public health measure. It's goal is to reduce the spread of disease and reduce public disorder by providing a sanctioned location that is sanitary. In addition to having 12 booths where addicts can inject, Insite connects its participants to many other services such as housing and detox. Insite also operates a residential detox program, Onsite, that is right above Insite. The people at Onsite would not normally be able to access detox and withdrawal services. Because of the relationships developed at Insite, Onsite has been able to reach out to hardcore addicts like never before. Insite has been heavily studied in peer reviewed journals like The Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, etc. Insite works.
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