Controversial Harm Reduction Program Remains Open

Although completely abstaining from drugs is the most successful route for addicts seeking to live healthy lifestyles, this is not always an attainable task. For those who cannot stop abusing drugs, there are some regions of the world that provide harm reduction techniques such as designated areas for safely using drugs, known as “safe injection sites”. Canada’s first safe injection site, Insite, reigned victorious in a recent court case which challenged its legality and it will remain open to addicts wishing to limit the damage inflicted by their disease.[1] Those that support Insite’s existence believe this decision will save many Canadian lives and will serve as an example for other provinces for years to come.[2]

Insite provides a safe and comfortable atmosphere for addicts sixteen years of age or older to intravenously administer drugs under close medical supervision.[3] Many of the regulars at Insite are homeless, sick, or unemployed and the most commonly used drug on the premises is heroin, which is often bought on the street in 10 dollar bags.[4] Insite does not provide drugs to its participants, but they do supply clean paraphernalia.[5]

The issue at hand during the court proceedings was whether or not Insite should be granted a permit extension by the federal government of Canada.[6] The judges unanimously ruled that Insite’s closure would put its users at serious risk and that healthcare should be regulated on a provincial level, rather than federal.[7] Insite is now permanently exempt from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which it was accused of being in violation of.[8] The federal government is not happy with the ruling; however, they are in total compliance.[9]

Advocates of Insite highlighted the fact addiction is a disease and emphasized that “morality” has no place in determining the rights of citizens.[10] Conservatives that opposed Insite believe addicts have made a personal moral choice that the state should not collude with.[11]

The Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, was leading the opposition to this harm reduction oriented facility and is disappointed with the controversial ruling.[12] The judges that ruled in favor of Insite stated that shutting down North America’s only medically-supervised injection site was unconstitutional because it would violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[13] The portion of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that was cited was section seven which promises “Life, liberty and the security of person.”[14] The judges were in agreement with studies that confirmed Insite’s role in preventing overdose and the contraction of disease in the drug addicted population.[15]

The ruling which confirmed Insite’s legitimacy as a medical facility opens the door for counties across Canada to open safe injection sites when deemed necessary by health authorities.[16] This necessity can be determined when a supervised injection site would lower the rate of death or disease while not adversely effecting public safety.[17] There is already a push in Ottawa for the establishment of a safe injection site.[18] Dr. Mark Tyndall, head of Ottawa Hospital’s division of infectious diseases, is leading the movement for an Ottawa harm reduction program and claims Ottawa’s HIV problem is an epidemic that must be arrested immediately.[19] The mayor and police chief of Ottawa strongly oppose the idea of an injection site in their province and believe the program would put public safety at risk.[20] Montreal, which is home to about 15,000 IV drug users, has already developed various proposals for safe injection sites that are awaiting approval.[21] Safe injection sites have a higher probability of being permitted in areas that are addled by drug addiction such as Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa.[22]

Insite’s victory in court may also open the door for other harm-reduction style programs, including a possible revival of the North American Opiate Medication Initiative, which was a 2005-2007 experimental program that supplied addicts with prescription heroin.[23]

This monumental ruling was made the same week that the Canadian government instated legislation that cracked down on drug sale by establishing mandatory minimum sentences and the removal of a house arrest option for certain cases.[24] However, the imprisonment of drug users is not the only method to reduce the destruction of drug addiction and this reality was stressed by the courts decision concerning Insite.[25]

Vancouver NDP MP Libby Davis took note of statistics that showed a one-third decrease of overdose deaths in the city of Vancouver since Insite opened its doors.[26] Insite has also provided a resource for addicts wishing to cease drug use and some who have successfully gained sobriety claim Insite was where they made the connections imperative in accomplishing this goal.[27] Insite assists those that wish to entirely abstain from drugs with the detox center on its second floor and its transitional living program housed on the third floor.[28]

A study of 1,000 IV drug users Vancouver concluded that 87 percent had hepatitis C and 17 percent were positive for HIV.[29] 4,600 IV users live in the Downtown Eastside region of Vancouver, where Insite is located and where the homeless rate is roughly 20 percent.[30] For regions that are this infested with drug addiction, disease, and homelessness, a harm reduction strategy can be successfully implemented to benefit the community.

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