Pubdate: Sat, 12 Sep 2015
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The London Free Press
Contact: http://www.lfpress.com/letters
Website: http://www.lfpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n504/a07.html

INJECTION SITES CAN SAVE THE DAY

Regarding the article Coderre backs drug-injection sites (Sept. 4)

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre is to be commended for putting public 
health before drug war politics and opening safe injection sites.

Conservative opposition to harm reduction has no basis in science. 
Safe injection sites 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 that 57 per cent of AIDS cases among 
women 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-A-A-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

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom