Do Alberta cities need supervised injection sites similar to InSite in Vancouver - places where drug users can inject in clean, safer environments? Calgary Liberal MLA David Swann doesn't hesitate for a second when asked. "Absolutely," says Swann, who worked as a physician before being elected, and recently co-chaired a committee reviewing Alberta's addiction and mental health system. "It's not treatment, it's not healing. It's not all that we want, but it's going to reduce the harm done to individuals and their contacts." [continues 353 words]
When you hear that your government is helping addicts shoot up or smoke crack, it's normal to wonder: how can this possibly be good? I had the same response when I learned of Insite, Vancouver's governmentfunded supervised injection site. Insite describes itself as a safe, health-focused place where people inject drugs and connect to health-care services." The health services bit is fine, but shooting up? With the direct aid of government? That just seems wrong. A lot of people think so, including the Harper Conservatives, who are bent on shutting the place down. [continues 574 words]
