Pubdate: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Supervised Injection Sites) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/InSite BEING RIGHT CAN BE ALL WRONG Though on the surface they may not appear to have much in common, the issues of global warming and safe-injection drug sites are two of the most hotly debated topics of the day. Both seem to provoke a seemingly endless supply of strong, polarizing opinions. Both involve calls for strong government action. And both have been turned into a fertile field for taxpayer-funded studies. Both involve a supposed "consensus" of scientific opinion -- challenged, of course, by a strongly dissenting minority. And both have become intensely divisive, with little room for compromise. Both sides in each debate seem convinced not only that they are right, but that the other side combines the IQ of a lemming with the morals of a snake. Both, in other words, exhibit high levels of self-righteousness. In that respect, Health Minister Tony Clement's recent comments questioning the ethics of health professionals who support Vancouver's publicly funded injection site for drug addicts were grist for the mill. They were intended to stir up a pre-election political hornet's nest. And they achieved that purpose. "Is it ethical for health-care professionals to support the distribution of drugs that are of unknown substance or purity or potency -- drugs that cannot be legally prescribed? If this were done in a doctor's office, the college [of physicians] would rightly be investigating," Clement stated. Predictably, this drew a sharp reaction from Carolyn Bennett, the federal Liberal public-health critic, who questioned the minister's audacity in scolding health professionals "about their perceived ethical failings." But the fact remains that the professionals who support Insite, Vancouver's safe-injection site, have been equally quick to chastise those with whom they disagree. Indeed, those researching the issue tend to sound more like zealous advocates for a pre-ordained position than disinterested pursuers of scientific truth. So do many of the researchers into global warming. In an ideal world, of course, those leading either side of the debate over "harm reduction" or "climate change" would work together to find common ground. At the moment, though, being perceived to be intellectually and morally superior seems far more important to these higher-purpose people. Which is why drug addiction remains B.C.'s biggest scourge -- and environmental pollution continues to run rampant in many parts of the world. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom