Pubdate: Sun, 28 Jul 2013
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2013 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n353/a05.html
Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor

HARM REDUCTION

Re "No to drug injection sites in Toronto" (Editorial, July 21): Safe 
injection sites exemplify harm reduction. They have been shown to 
reduce the spread of HIV and prevent overdose deaths, without 
increasing drug use. They also serve as a bridge to drug treatment 
for a hard-to-reach population. Drug users are not the only 
beneficiaries. U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate 
57% of AIDS cases among women and 36% of overall AIDS cases in the 
United States are linked to injection drug use or sex with partners 
who inject drugs. This preventable public health crisis is a direct 
result of zero tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes. 
Can Canada afford to emulate the harm maximization approach of the 
former land of the free and current record holder in citizens incarcerated?

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC

(As we noted in the editorial from the University of Toronto study in 
2012: "Toronto ... has relatively low HIV prevalence rates among 
people who inject drugs")
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom