Vancouver “In-Site” / Harm Reduction and How Its Saving Lives.

What is Insite?

In 2003 Vancouver launched In-Site; A facility located in the heart of Vancouvers  Downtown East Side in which injection drug users would be provided with clean needles to inject in a supervised setting. The goal of in-site is not only providing a safe way and place to inject; they also strive to provide other health care services for those struggling with addiction and HIV / AIDS. Funded by Vancouver Coastal health Insite faced many legal barriers and still to this day operates in a rather legal grey area in the attempt to maintain the facility in harm reduction model techniques and advocacy for treatment. But the numbers don’t lie and a great change was brought upon the most vulnerable community in British Columbia.

Vancouvers Aids Epedemic:

 “When you walked around the West End, it would hit you in the face how many people there were with AIDS. In the mid-1990s, we were diagnosing up to 800 people a year, now it’s more like one per week here in B.C.” – Dr. Julio Montaner;

During that time period BC  and in particular in the Downtown East Side, we saw an HIV/AIDS epidemic never seen in North America before. Vancouvers large port city has an extremely large open drug market; as well as having the mildest climate in Canada. The open drug market mixed with  affordable housing in DTES Single room occupancies makes Vancouvers eastside a breeding ground for crime and substance use.

Since the opening of In-Site

The new cases of H.I.V. infection have dropped substancially … “B.C. has had such remarkable success arresting acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, that in the past 25 years, new cases have steadily dropped and are now 90 per cent below what they were at the beginning of the epidemic.” – BC Centre For Dissease Control.

Speaking from personal experience in the surrounding areas; the visible injecting / scattered needles and drug crime did drop substantially as well.

This video uploaded in 2006 shows the severity of this areas situation and how In-Site combats the issues first hand.

 

-Nina

My Ideas on Curbing the Fentanyl Crisis

1. The G Code

Drug Cartels and Gangs more often than not live by strict codes. If these groups were to strictly enforce a code against the use of fentanyl it would save lives AND make them more money. Gangs can’t make a profit off of people that are now dead because of their product and would avoid police by doing so. By banning the cutting of products with fentanyl in your groups; you will avoid bad publicity, retaliation for deaths as well as the police.

2. Drug Testing Kits

I’ve seen several documentaries over the past years of people creating stands at concerts so that people may test their drugs before use; non for profit agencies spreading awareness and substance harm reduction. If we were to implicate this same ideology in our vulnerable neighbourhoods it would at least give people a chance to know what they are about to take. We need to make these tests free and largely available to the public.

3. Chinese Import of Fentanyl

Large amounts of the fentanyl found in Canada can be traced back to chinese manufacturing and shipping. Canadian Law Enforcement and International leaders need to crack down on the Chinese imports and come down HARD. Our children are dying here and world needs to take notes on the big players; wheeling and dealing with the lives at risk. Who is at the top of the fentanyl food chain? And cut it off at the head.

4. The Pill Press

Banning the sale, shipping and distribution of the pill press may not solve this issue but it would be a big step in the right direction. The current premier of British Columbia Christy Clark did not want the pill press banned. We should write our leaders and subject them to strong disapproval of how they are handling this crisis. Shame on you Christy Clark.

5. Publicity

The more warnings in media about drug sources and drug awareness would make people think twice about what they put in their body; The Canadian government needs to spend money promoting drug awareness in Public places. In the poor neighbourhoods I go through the most prevalent advertisement is Alcohol. BY FAR. I am not impressed and would rather see a more productive approach to what is subjected to our eyes and our minds.

6. Drug Education

Education on all drugs; being so prevalent in todays society perhaps  should be a year around curriculum. This curriculum should be designed and maintained / up-kept on a regular basis to save the lives of this generation and generations to come in a pill filled society. Abstinence of drugs in our schools has never been successful and perhaps harm reduction is a proven tactic to prevent addiction / drug related deaths and increase treatment.

7. In-Sites

Vancouver was one of the first ( If not the first ) In the world to implement safe injection sites. A place where drug users can be assisted / monitored / watched while they inject and can stay in the facility while they are high. It was implemented in order to curb an H.I.V. epidemic in our community which was ranked one of the worst per capita in the world. AND IT WORKED. It saved thousands of lives and new In-Sites are in the works.

8. Legalization of drugs.

The war on drugs did not work. It created a systematic enslavement and increased addiction and poverty in specific communities.

Lets Just BE REALISTIC. And follow suite accordingly giving us a standardized use of drugs before this gets out of control… Oh wait it already is

Please share this post / comment your thoughts on this subject for discussion.

-Nina