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Are Canada's Drug Policies Offending the World????
According to this article apparently Yes!
B.C. injection site risks offending world
report
Peter O'Neil
CanWest News Service
Monday, March 26, 2007
OTTAWA - The federal government concluded that the risk of offending the international community by keeping open Vancouver's supervised injection site for drug addicts had more serious consequences than closing the facility over the objections of the B.C. government, according to internal documents obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
One Health Canada document, which describes and evaluates the risks associated with both options, also warned that refusal to extend Insite's licence would simply result in the opening of an illegal facility doing the same thing.
With considerable risks inherent with either choice, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government -- asked to extend the permit by up to five years -- found a middle ground in August by extending the facility's permit only until the end of this year.
The government also refused to renew the $1.5-million in research funding provided by the former Liberal government when it opened for a three-year trial in 2003. The Harper government has criticized "harm reduction" measures such as the Insite program, which focuses on reducing the risk of overdoses and HIV infection rates among hardcore addicts.
The facility provides clean needles, a safe place to shoot up, a referral service for addicts seeking treatment and staff available in the event of an overdose.
The April 26, 2006, analysis lists seven risks facing the government if it extends the permit allowing the Insite facility to operate, and six risks if the government denies the application.
Each risk is given a "likelihood rating" and a separate "consequence rating" from one to five. Both numbers are multiplied to indicate the overall risk rating.
"Negative reaction/criticism from the international community" was given a likelihood ranking of five, the highest score, and a consequence rating of three, for a total score of 15 -- the second highest of the nine identified risks in extending Insite's permit.
The highest ranking, with a score of 20, related to the expected demand for renewed research funding for Insite if the permit is extended, along with additional demands for research funds for other injection sites that might appear elsewhere in Canada.
Risks cited in the report included "negative reaction/criticism from domestic stakeholders such as the police," which got a total score of five.
Among the risks associated with killing Insite, Health Canada expressed its greatest concern that the government would lose access to evidence that could be used for "decisions on programs of this nature in the future." That received the highest possible score of 25.
The federal budget last week committed $64-million over two years to fund a renewed National Anti-Drug Strategy, which already receives $385-million a year. The new money will be used to combat illicit drug production, use and dependency, and will not be used for harm reduction initiatives.
Researchers with the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS have criticized the Harper government, accusing it of taking an "ideological" U.S.-style war on drugs approach rather than consider evidence that suggests Insite is effective.
The head of the United Nations' drug control agency, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), criticized the government earlier this month for "encouraging illicit trafficking" by allowing Insite to operate legally.
The INCB and U.S. President George W. Bush's administration have led the international battle against harm reduction initiatives.
© National Post 2007
Link to Article
"The federal budget last week committed $64-million over two years to fund a renewed National Anti-Drug Strategy, which already receives $385-million a year. The new money will be used to combat illicit drug production, use and dependency, ]and will not be used for harm reduction initiatives ."
This is what realy pissed me off. There are new studies published in UK about how the drug laws need reform and are uneffective as is, but Canada has to take a step back wards instead of leading by example!
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