Downtown Eastside, Vancouver, by Marcel Chaves
InSite, one of the most controversial health programs ever established in North America, has reached its 10th anniversary this year.
Since it started in 2003, this Vancouver’s supervised injection site had to face many critics and lawsuits from the federal government, which is somehow comprehensible. Based on everything that we learn in school, life, church and media, we are led to think that drugs are extremely harmful and should be taken away from everybody, with no exceptions.
On the other hand, this program, InSite, shows that exception exists and is extremely beneficial for those suffering from different levels of addiction.
For many years, the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver has faced a high level of overdoses and HIV/Aids contamination, among other things, as the consequences of unsafe drug injection.
The non-profit program, which is operated by Vancouver Coastal Health and the Portland Hotel Society, offers addicts a safe environment where they can “inject drugs and connect to health care services – such as a team of nurses, counsellors, mental health workers and peer support workers.”
The program has been successful in saving lives. The number of overdose deaths has decreased by 35 per cent, according to research by the Urban Health Research Initiative.
According to another study, by the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, InSite has also produced great results in preventing HIV/Aids and hepatitis C, since it provides clean and new injection equipment, such as needles and tourniquets, preventing people from sharing or using contaminated syringes on the streets.
Connected to InSite is the OnSite, where according to their official website, “when clients, usually InSite users, are ready to access withdrawal management, they can be immediately accommodated,” and possibly start the process of detoxicating.
Likewise, the community is also benefited from this program. According to a study by British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, drug-related crimes close to the establishment, decreased from 302 vehicles break-ins and thefts in the year before inSite opened to 227 incidents in the year after. (Data from the Vancouver Police Department)
Even with all the positive results of the program, the federal government has tried, with the support of many conservative people, to shutdown InSite several times, based on the Conservative Party’s ideology and beliefs.
Those conservatives argue that the government should not facilitate drug use by providing a place for a such a thing. Furthermore they say that, somehow, this program encourage the use of injected drug, which is an unfounded argument according to other study by BCCE on HIV/AIDS.
A third claim from the federal government is that Vancouver’s supervised injection site, being controlled by the Government of British Columbia, goes against the federal drug policy.
Although the federal government has tried dozens of times to close the first supervised injection site in North America since 2011, based at all times on their ideology and not proof, the evidence coming from many studies by several researches convinced, unanimously, the Supreme Court to declare InSite important to public heath and allowed it to stay open.
Samantha Lego
There’s a quote in this Globe and Mail article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-doctors-given-health-canada-approval-to-prescribe-heroin/article14450664/
It’s about Health Canada taking initiative: “…the federal government is more than willing to wade into medical decisions when it suits their political needs, regardless of the cost to marginalized individuals and public health,” he said. “Evidence should drive policy decisions, not ideology and stigma against drug users.”
I feel that this pretty much sums up the Conservative outlook on anything that goes against the grade with drugs.
Do you have anything like this in Brazil?
Marcel Chaves da Silva
Its interesting that the government is now trying to stop another “program” for addicts, once again, based not in evidences at all, right? According to the Pivot Lawyer, that represents the participants of this heroin prescription ‘program’, they are now trying to convince the government by formulating a lawsuit against them.
Well, as far as I know there is nothing similar to it in Brazil. We are somehow very conservative about some topics. I would say that, right now (related to drug issues), after failing so many times, our government is trying to find alternative ways of dealing with crack users, which I think is our biggest problem on addiction.
Isabela and Gabriela
I think it is interesting that Vancouver has this program… I confess that on the beginning I had some prejudice, but after your article and listening you talk about it, I feel this is a good alternative and maybe would be great if deployed in Brazil… but I think my country is not developed enough for that…
(Isabela)
Marcel Chaves da Silva
It is for sure an controversial topic. But I think the statistics have shown good results, so far. Our country has worked really hard to reduce the harms related to drugs, and I think this is a great opportunity but as you said, somethings need to be changed first, such as the population’s mind.