To those nimbys, soap box moralisers and shameless political game players (yes, I mean you Brown, Smith and Coaker) who have systematically stymied attempts to set up supervised drug consumption facilities in the UK - I challenge you to watch this video. These are not 'pot-heads', 'junkies', or evil trojan-horse 'legalisers' making the case for Vancouver's pioneering Insite facility to remain open, these are leading nurses, researchers and public health experts imploring the Canadian Prime minister not to jeopardize a proven life-saving facility just because he thinks it is the politically expedient thing to do.
For those who have not been following developments in Canada you can read here about how Insite this week won a legal reprieve in the British Colombia Supreme Court to prevent its imminent closure. There has been massive international coverage of this story, and it has important implications for similar debates unfolding across the globe, not least in the UK.
more discussion of Insite's numerous impact assessments here
CBC radio on the Supreme Court ruling here (mp3).
Includes Interviews Liz Evans of PHS Community Services, who operate Insite, Comments from Dean Wilson of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and Health Minister Tony Clement in response to questions from Vancouver East MP Libby Davies.
1 comment:
Dr Crippen included links to a series of stories about this in Grand Rounds 4:38. It was a very interesting read.
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