INJECTION OBJECTION - Vancouver Courier
May 7, 2008
Two Vancouver MPs were quick to issue statements last Friday over the battle with the federal Conservative government to keep the city's supervised injection site open.
Vancouver-Centre Liberal MP Hedy Fry said the government's "Republican-style ideological war against drugs" continues to trump mounting scientific evidence supporting harm reduction measures such as Insite.
"It is simply irresponsible to ignore scientifically based proof of the efficacy of harm reduction programs like this and base public policy on ideology alone because real people suffer the consequences," Fry's statement said.
A series of articles published May 2 in the International Journal of Drug Policy criticized the Conservative government for its lack of support for Insite.
Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies says medical researchers from the University of B.C. revealed that the government suppressed evidence and denied funding to scientists who are "looking objectively at the merits of Insite."
Davies noted more than 20 medical and academic studies were published showing health and social benefits of Insite at 139 East Hastings.
"[Stephen] Harper doesn't understand that you can't just hide the facts whenever they don't suit your political agenda," she says. "We need a change in direction. It's time for this government to make decisions based on evidence instead of ideology."
SFU criminologist Dr. Neil Boyd addressed the Ottawa press gallery Monday to talk about his research and the benefits of Insite.
Insite's operating agreement with the federal government expires at the end of June. The facility opened in September 2003. It's the only legal injection site in North America.
It's open every day and people as young as 16 can use it. No one has died at the site, according to the facility's staff which is composed of members from Vancouver Coastal Health and the PHS Community Services Society.
