Pubdate: Thu, 09 Jan 2014
Source: McGill Daily, The (CN QU Edu)
Copyright: 2014 The McGill Daily
Contact:  http://www.mcgilldaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2638

ADDICTION IS NOT A CRIME

In December, a project for four supervised injection sites in Montreal
was put into action by the city's public health department, which
submitted a proposal to the provincial government requesting funding
for the planned sites. The news comes after years of effort on the
part of advocates across the city, who have been working to ensure the
safety of drug users, despite the harmful and dangerous social stigma
that surrounds drug use and addiction.

Supervised injection sites are centres where drug users can access
clean needles and safely inject pre-obtained drugs under the
supervision of a nurse or medical professional. Such sites are crucial
in preventing the spread of infections and diseases, such as HIV/AIDS
and hepatitis C, among drug users, as well as preventing other
injection-related problems such as overdose and vein damage. They also
provide a safe, judgement-free space for drug users, and serve as a
place for drug users to seek detox treatment or other forms of support
if they so choose. Supervised injection sites have not been found to
contribute to any sort of increase in crime or drug-related debris,
nullifying the arguments of many critics. Furthermore, in terms of
public health spending, the planned safe injection sites are expected
to pay for themselves after four years.

Supervised injection sites are an important component of a harm
reduction drug strategy, an approach that has been neglected at the
federal level, particularly with the Conservative government's
misguided anti-drug campaign. This can be seen in measures such as the
failed "Respect for Communities Act," which sought to make it more
difficult to open safe injection sites. With such a toxic climate at
the federal level, the burden of crucial work falls to individual
cities, oftentimes to community and advocacy organizations. One
example of this is Vancouver's Insite, the first supervised injection
site on the continent. Insite's impact has been pronounced: it has
seen a decline of 35 per cent in overdose deaths at the clinic,
compared to a 9 per cent drop city-wide, and there has been a 30 per
cent increase in people seeking detox treatment since its opening -
all despite the lack of federal support for its activities.

Here in Montreal, there will be multiple supervised injection sites,
unlike the single Insite clinic in Vancouver. The project includes
planned funding for three sites, as well as one mobile site. The sites
hold the potential to make a tremendous impact; however, these
projects will require ongoing support to ensure their success.
Vancouver and Montreal, as of now, are the sole cities in Canada with
plans for supervised injection sites, with none planned or present in
the U.S. - a dispiriting sign for such an important resource that
works against stigmatizing drug users.

The stigma surrounding drug users and addiction does not end with such
initiatives, but they certainly help by normalizing the safe
supervision of drug use. Open discussion is the most important step
toward implementing adequate harm reduction strategies to face the
reality of addiction and work toward healing. Addiction should not be
treated as a criminal problem but as a public health issue. 
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