Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mitch Comestein]

Health Canada defers decision on Vancouver safe injection site

VANCOUVER (CP) - Health Canada has put off making a final decision on Vancouver's safe injection site.

In a terse news release issued late Friday, Health Minister Tony Clement said more research needs to be done on how to get addicts off drugs. "Given the need for more facts, I am unable to approve the current request to extend the Vancouver site for another three and a half years," said Clement.

He said a decision on the Vancouver application will be made by Dec. 31, 2007.

"We believe the best form of harm reduction is to help addicts to break the cycle of dependency," he said. "We also need better education and prevention to ensure Canadians don't get addicted to drugs in the first place."

Clement said that in the meantime additional studies will be conducted into how supervised injection sites affect crime, prevention and treatment.

Health Canada posted the release on its website after the close of business Friday. Erik Waddell, a spokesman in the minister's office, said Clement had no plans to make himself available to explain the decision.

The Vancouver injection site will stay open while the studies are conducted. Called Insite, the pilot project allows addicts to shoot up their own heroin or cocaine in the presence of a nurse to prevent overdoses.

It was slated to close Sept. 12 if the Conservative government refused to renew a three-year exemption under Canada's drug laws.

The site is funded by the provincial government, although Ottawa has provided money for research.

Mod Edit: Please click on the link at the top to read the rest of the article.
_____________________________________________________________

Vancouver: The city where you can shoot up with the help from a nurse paid for by your tax dollars. My understanding is that thtis clinic is right down the street from the "SafeRape" clinic (where you bring unconscious women and the nurse will make sure you use a condom) and the "OKBurglary" site (where a trained handyman will take you to another person's house and help you jimmy the door to avoid being injured or follow you when you mug someone so they can administer Band-Aids and Polysporin).

Oh, I know what you're going to say. You're going to say how the depencency on hard drugs like heroin and cocaine is a victimless crime, but you're going to forget about all of the crime it takes for users to get the money to buy their drugs. You're going to say that it's cheaper to have a nurse there for that than to pay for their care at the hospital, but your going to complain if the government gives a dime to help someone build a church when that church would give so much more money back to the underprivileged in a community.

[mindmetoo]

If you consider our legal vices, we certainly spend a lot more tax money on all the health and social problems caused by alcohol and cigarettes. Sober people commit far fewer crimes. Cigarettes in Canada have so much tax on them, that many people steal cigarettes because there is a lucrative business in selling discount smokes. Our health industry is burdened by people who, despite the best advice around them, abuse booze 'n' smokes, ruin their health, and then our public health-care system pays for it.

People who shoot up spread AIDS. AIDS is very expensive to society. If there is a cheap way and proven way of reducing that cost, we should employ it. The savings could be given to build the churches (or other welfare organizations) to deliver help to poor.

[sundubuman]

Vancouver, city of _____ ex-current-future ESL teachers and ESL learners.

[sundubuman]

In a way, it's like the ultimte ESL city. Maybe they should change the name to ESL, British Columbia.

[On the other hand]

[sundubuman]

and scoring a 15 minute-pronunciation job on Chinese passers-by.

[JongnoGuru]

[dulouz]

Man, I have some pictures of Vancouver and Vancouverites that I can't discuss here.