Pubdate: Sat, 19 Jul 2008
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2008 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Neil Boyd
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n687/a03.html

DRUGS: ANOTHER SET OF FACTS

Margaret Wente's selective use of examples from various nation-states 
and academic literature does a disservice to those of us who have 
been working in this area for decades, irrespective of the positions 
that we take (Europe's Approach To Drugs Is More Enlightened ... It's 
Tougher - July 17). There are more than 40 legally sanctioned 
injection sites in the countries of Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, 
Switzerland, Luxembourg and Norway; these countries do not experience 
rates of illicit drug use and abuse that are fundamentally different 
from other countries in Europe, taken as a group.

Additionally, there is plenty of credible evidence from the most 
prestigious of peer-reviewed journals that many harm-reduction 
programs save lives - and taxpayer dollars.

NEIL BOYD

School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University
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