Exploding prison populations in the US serve a basic need of capitalism, at the expense usually of Blacks The business of keeping people in cages is not a pretty one. While bodies pile up on Vancouver streets and as dealers fight over the drug war's lucrative spoils, our politicians and corporate media look to jails as a solution. But we need only look south of the border to see what sort of solution corrections offers. The United States now has far and away the highest proportion of population under correctional control in the world. [continues 1335 words]
It's the government-sponsored Drug War that brings most of the ills that harm reduction can barely contain Vancouverites wanted something done about drug addiction. A potent mixture of fear and compassion had the citizens determined to find a solution to the menace that was afflicting larger and larger portions of the society, including youth from well-to-do homes. A large NGO established a committee to study the problem, and the doctor in charge made a number of recommendations. Dr Lawrence Ranta recommended a pilot medical treatment centre for addicts and a citywide educational campaign regarding the dangers of drug addiction. More controversially, the doctor recommended that the federal government establish narcotic clinics where registered narcotic users could receive required drugs. [continues 765 words]
The manager of the Vancouver Needle Exchange has sent an e-mail to health officials, police, and politicians claiming that "research" shows there is already an adequate supply of sterile needles on the Downtown Eastside. Judy McGuire's claim, however, has been disputed by AIDS researcher Evan Wood, whose work was cited in Maguire's e-mail. McGuire, health outreach manager of the Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society-which operates the Vancouver Needle Exchange-distributed the e-mail shortly after police shut down a dusk-to-dawn needle exchange (not affiliated with the VNE) operated by drug users at Main and Hastings streets. "The Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study [VIDUS] has noted that users say they have no problem accessing needles in the Downtown Eastside," McGuire claimed in the e-mail. [continues 411 words]
