Pubdate: Fri, 20 Feb 2009
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2009 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Bernice Trick
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?142 (Supervised Injection Sites)

BENEFITS OUTWEIGH RISKS

Medical health chief supports safe injection sites Despite 
controversial opinion on the value of safe drug-injection sites, the 
chief medical officer for Northern Health says they are a legitimate 
and responsible tool that should be considered throughout B.C.

Dr. David Bowering says the benefit to people is that safe injection 
sites "reduce the risk of spreading disease like HIV/AIDS, reduce 
risks of overdosing and reduce the risk of drug deaths."

Said Bowering: "Not to say we're ready for this yet in Prince George, 
and the only way we could establish something like this would be in 
partnership with all the other agencies and people involved, but it 
should be considered by health authorities when they are planning 
their harm-reduction activities. It's probably a long way off, but it 
is something we are talking about."

He said while the needle exchange program in downtown Prince George 
does make the downtown area safer for all, making the best of a bad 
situation, "the evidence is very strong that the safe injection site 
in east Vancouver provides a benefit both to the people who use it 
and the local area where it has improved the situation."

Neither an injection site or a needle exchange program provides drugs to users.

Needle exchange users exchange used needles for clean ones to inject 
their drugs wherever they choose with no watchful eyes upon them.

Safe injection site users bring in their drugs and inject them on 
site where health personnel is standing by in case of overdoses and 
other related problems.

Coun. Brian Skakun has an opposite opinion to the health officers.

"I'm concerned about the message it sends to our kids. We discourage 
them from drug use, and on the other hand they hear about these safe 
places to inject drugs.

"Will other services suffer because of the funding going into these 
sites? We have a long list of people waiting for knee, hip and other 
surgeries, but drug addicts would be able to go to supervised care to 
take drugs. I think the funding would be better spent on drug 
prevention and treatment programs," he said.

"If you provide a place like this, more and more intravenous drug 
users will come to Prince George. "I don't think it bodes well for 
the reputation of our city," said Skakun, who would like to see a lot 
more discussion in the community on the topic of safe drug injection sites.

Bowering's support for injection sites reflects those of his fellow 
members of the Health Officers Council of B.C., who recently passed a 
resolution favouring safe injection sites as a way to reduce the 
spread of needle-transmitted disease and drug overdoses and as a way 
of making a community safer.

"We just wanted to make it clear that we agree with the evidence in 
support of that kind of service whenever the situation seems to merit 
it," said Bowering.

He said there's no doubt the subject will continue to surface during 
meetings of the HOCBC, which is made up of the province's medical 
health officers, physicians and other medical personnel.
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