Pubdate: Sat, 08 Oct 2011
Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC)
Copyright: 2011, BC Newspaper Group
Contact:  http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/948
Page: 9
Author: Jo Taylor
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n609/a06.html?1413

SHORT-SIGHTED VIEW ON HARM REDUCTION PLAN NOT BENEFICIAL

To the Editor,

Re: Government funding supports addicts, Letters, Oct. 4.

After having participated in the federal Supreme Court Case for 
Insite in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside as a B.C. Nurses Union 
council member, I feel I need to respond to this dialogue (the ruling 
came down last week in our favour).

The BCNU has supported safe injection sites from the beginning. It 
may not look, upfront, like it's beneficial and it may even look like 
its enabling but it's not.

What it does is it stops the ambulance from being called because 
there are less overdoses, which in turns means that this individual 
is not adding to the already overcrowded ER situation (blocking a bed 
that you might need instead).

That's the short-term, but in the long-term these people are being 
taught safe practices that will in turn affect their health long-term 
so they are not burdening the health care system with so many chronic 
diseases, creating added workload for our hospitals, our doctors and 
other programs.

They deserve dignity and care just like everyone else. If they are 
going to practise these behaviours, let's help them to do it safely.

It doesn't reduce the numbers of drug abusers, but they have access 
to counselling if they do want to rehab.

Lots of the counsellors in these places come from the streets and 
know intimately what these clientele are facing. And more people do 
come off of the drugs with this assistance than they do if left to the streets.

So reducing "free support" actually increases the tax payers' burden 
in the short and long run.

Take a long-term global view rather than one that is short-sighted. 
Ask questions and be curious, there's more information and support 
out there explaining this better than I do.

Jo Taylor

Nanaimo
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart