Mobile Safe Injection

Those who call themselves harm reduction advocates have been lobbying for safe injection sites in Winnipeg for a long time.  Those who don't believe we have a drug crisis strongly object to this.  They think it is a morality issue.  They think this is diverting funds to "reward" addicts and to condone their behavior.  They also think that this will encourage people to become drug addicts.  

Frankly, there is lots of literature on whether safe injection sites are effective.  It is difficult to really say conclusively one way or another because there is so many variables and different measures of effectiveness.  

An idea of a mobile safe injection site was posted by own of my friends yesterday.  It seems like a good way for Winnipeg to test the waters and gather data.  I chuckle when I think of those who like to think that we are not in a drug crisis right now and their reaction. They will draw comparisons between the mobile site (van) and an ice cream truck.  They will see it going through the streets with a jingle that says "free drugs free drugs" and luring people into this activity.  That is literally what some people will think.  Of course, that is not what it will be.  

A safe injection site will accomplish many things.  As a harm reduction strategy, it will provide clean one-use needles to ensure hygienic procedures.  That will mean less needles to be picked up by volunteers.  That will mean less needles that have potential to harm children who may find them.  That means less contamination and less medical side effects.  This will mean less hospital costs.  Safe injection will result in less ambulance calls.  Vancouver safe injection sites have been particularly successful in treating overdoses right there on site without ambulance costs.  In 2007, Vancouver managed 336 overdoses without a single fatality.  

Safe injection means supervised injection staffed by medical professionals. They provide more than just injections.  They provide education, referral, and support when requested.  They provide a supportive non-judgmental ear.  Something those afflicted with addiction don't usually have.  They provide a census, so to speak, and provide valuable information to people trying to fight addictions. It also reduces potential harm to first responders who put their own personal safety at risk every time they are called to help someone who has accidentally overdosed.   

This mornings Winnipeg Sun front page story was about families bringing attention to overdose deaths in Manitoba through purple ribbons.  (I haven't got my Free Press yet, grumble, it was supposed to be here an hour ago, grumble.)  A year ago, I would have thought this affected one or two families.  Unfortunately, accidental overdoses are very prevalent in Manitoba as they are all over Canada.  3300 Canadians have lost their lives other the last three years.  Our current Premier is very much against safe injection sites, so it is difficult to find specific Manitoba data.  

A couple of weeks ago, I was in a coffee shop when I overheard two women talking.  One of their husbands had a fall at home the previous evening and the other one asked if he had been taken to the hospital.  The woman answered that there was no point in doing that because everyone knows that hospitals and emergency rooms only care about drug addicts and that you won't be seen by a doctor unless you are on meth.  Well, I know that is not the case but I was not going to inject into a conversation that I was not in.  Sadly, I think the sentiment shared by this woman is shared by others.  

The reality is that safe injection sites make economic sense.  It will result in fewer ambulance calls, it will result in fewer emergency room visits, and there is the intangibles.  Treating addicts with respect will go along way to getting them on better paths.  Not for the majority, but, even it helps one person get treatment and the path to getting their lives back without addiction, it will be worth it.  

What about the moral argument that a safe injection site is rewarding an addict?  First of all, addiction is a disease and there is nothing rewarding about it.  There aren't children going to bed at night dreaming of becoming addicts so they can use a safe injection site.  A safe injection site is merely a harm reduction strategy as part of the larger fight against the drug epidemic.  Harm reduction benefits us all.  

Secondly, if you are morally against helping addicts, where do you draw the line?  Do you stop helping people because they are doing things that are not in their best interest?  Dialysis is expensive  treatment and machines run 24 hours per day and it keeps many people alive.  I know an elderly man on dialysis who is not compliant with his medical advice.  Despite a fluid restriction, he drinks coffee by the gallon.  This is hard on his system and he is actually putting his life at risk by excessive fluids.  No one suggests to him that he will be cut off dialysis unless he complies with medical advice.  There are hundreds of examples.  Lack of safe drinking water and poor housing conditions have meant that people living in remote Indigenous communities are at risk for TB.  Do we not treat them?  Is it their fault that they chose to live there?  What about the beach goers?  Do we not treat them if they develop skin cancer because they over-expose themselves to Vitamin D?  It goes on an on.  

The reality is that we have families who are without loved ones due to overdoses and many of these overdoses have been accidental.  We need to try something.