The Martlet

Most of the time, legislating the ways humans may alter their state of mind turns sour. Surely prohibition taught us that! Ah, but heroin use is different from the responsible citizen only occasionally drinking or partak- ing in casual drug use. With regards to the rather more extreme way that heroin and other street drugs alter the mind, it’s probably worth asking whether we should enable this particular habit — with tax dollars, no less. Even smokers have to pay an arm and a lung for their cigarettes.

Here are a few things you might want to consider as you’re asking whether tax payers should continue to support Insite, the supervised, legal drug injection facility in Vancouver’s downtown eastside.

A large group of people are blindly opposed to safe injection sites; they hold the notion that because drugs are illegal, condoning safe injection sites legitimizes illegal drug use. British Columbia provides a home, or more appropriately, a street, for upwards of 10 000 heroin addicts. Opponents believe that since heroin is illegal in Canada, heroin users are all criminals and should be treated like criminals. What if they are not criminals, but instead citizens of this community that need our help?

Debra Lynkowski, CEO of the Canadian Pub- lic Health Association, says, “addiction-related drug use is a health issue and not a criminal justice issue.” Addiction is a disease. By provid- ing drug addicts with a safe place to shoot up under supervision, Insite helps funnel addicts

into rehabilitation. Insite saves lives. Insite does not provide drugs. It provides warmth, dignity and the acknowledgment that addicts are part of the human condition.

It is staffed by nurses, social workers and addiction counsellors who provide addiction treatment, mental health assistance and first aid in the event of an overdose or wound. It reduces the open injection of drugs in the streets and alleys of Vancouver. It reduces the sharing of needles and the spread of disease. There have been upwards of 1.8 million injec- tions since its opening in 2003 and not a single overdose death has occurred at the facility.

But wait — don’t take my word for it. Take the word of our top court. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Conservative government must grant Insite immediate immunity from federal drug laws — indefinitely. Take the word of dozens of peer-reviewed studies in medical journals. Take the word of the Vancouver Police Department, the word of provincial and local health authorities. The B.C. Nurses’ Union welcomed the Court’s decision and states that the ruling opens the door for more creative ways of supporting treatment for those with addictions. Insite’s third floor gives information on transition housing and connection to community resources, such as permanent housing and mental health services.

Safe injection sites provide a safe haven for people who are not able to help themselves. Yes, at the end of the day drug use is still occurring, but addicts are able to go to Insite without getting a death sentence — another strong Canadian ideal. Those quick to judge often overlook circumstances that many of these addicts or victims have endured. Among them are people with limited opportunity and choice, subject not only to poverty but also chronic mental illness, physical and sexual abuse, and lack of education. The many intricate needs of these people and the increasing diversity and number of homeless people lead to perplexed researchers, confused policymakers, and have drained society’s compassion. Now is the time for Canadians to shine and show the rest of the world what can be done.

Physician Hedy Fry, in support of Insite get- ting federal clearance, said “The ‘war on drugs’ has not worked in Canada and has proven to be an abject failure everywhere else in the world. Addiction is a medical problem and requires medical and public health solutions.”

Safe injection sites are a means of protecting those who cannot protect themselves; this sane approach to mental and societal health should not only exist in B.C. but should spread across Canada. Insite has already sparked the interest of other Canadian cities, such as Victoria and Toronto, in their own safe injection clinics. “This tiny place welcomes people who are broken,” says Liz Evans, a registered nurse and executive director of the Portland Hotel Society, which operates Insite. “It is the only square footage in North America where drug addicts can walk through the door and be treated like humans, not criminals.”

Before coming to a decision on Insite, get the facts, do research, talk to people on the ground.