Vancouver mayoral candidates unite to keep 'shooting gallery' open

In a news conference in downtown Vancouver, four different candidates from two different party's plus a former mayor, came together to deliver a united message to the federal government: stop being ideological, look at the facts, and allow Vancouver's supervised-injection site to stay open.

Non-Partisan Association (NPA) Councillor, Peter Ladner said he realizes that it bothers some policy-makers that people who use the site often have to commit crimes and always have to buy illegal drugs on the street in order to be there, but they have to realize the site has community support and is a humanitarian response to a terrible health crisis.

As covered in an earlier blog, the supervised injecting site was recently reviewed by an expert advisory committee commissioned by Health Minister, Tony Clement to decide whether or not the site was having favourable results in the community it serves. Their findings showed the site was doing just that, providing health benefits without increasing harm.

A member of that panel, Dr Thomas Kerr, a researcher with the Centre for Excellence on HIV/AIDS, commented, "Now it's time for the federal government to honour the findings and stop asking if this program should remain open."

The site's current exemption from federal drug laws expires June 30, but Federal Health Minister Tony Clement hasn't yet said whether he will extend the pass and allow the site to remain open.

Why is it that after fighting to get this place open in the first place, and it being proven to benefit the local community, that it's future still isn't guaranteed? Far from looking to close it, the Canadian Government should be heralding this project as the success it is, and promoting it across Canada and the World as a whole. I for one would welcome this kind of provision in the UK. When our Government is looking for 'new' strategy's why don't they look at what's working in other Countries and follow their example?

It's time for a whole new approach to 'recovery' in the UK.

'Shooting gallery' encourages users to get treatment

I read with interest Monday's Daily dose which highlighted a story from Vancouver, Canada, about a supervised injecting site which was recently reviewed by an expert advisory committee commissioned by Health Minister, Tony Clement to decide whether or not the site was having favourable results in the community it serves. The committee of experts in addictions, mental health and criminology reported that the site is well supported in the local community, provides good value for money, doesn't increase crime rates or drug use, actually encourages drug users to get treatment and necessary vaccinations, and also reduces overdose rates.

Researcher Dr Thomas Kerr commented,

"Overall, the report is very positive and confirms our research that the site is doing what it's supposed to do -- provide health benefits without increasing harm," said Kerr, a researcher with the Centre for Excellence on HIV/AIDS. "Now it's time for the federal government to honour the findings and stop asking if this program should remain open."

Sounds like a good result to me! A friend of mine works in a direct access, front line hostel as a support worker. In a recent conversation he mentioned that the charity he works for has investigated the possibilities of opening the same kind of facilities here. Their findings were that it was possible, legally, to do this here. Over the last two years, in this hostel alone, I know personally of 5 people who have died from overdoses while secretly injecting. This kind of initiative would have saved their lives. Addiction is about life and death, it's that serious, and it's time a radical new approach is sanctioned to minimise the harm caused to substance misuser's, so that they will still be alive when all the pieces fit together for their recovery. Could 'shooting gallery's' be that radical new approach?