ENGL 1100. Safe Injection Sites. Literature & Language Research Paper

ENGL 1100
July 20, 2018
Safe Injection Sites
Supervised injection sites, or the legal medical facilities in which drug users visit to get their fix safely, are facing controversy like never before. From British Columbia to Ontario, supervised injection sites in Canada have been making headlines due to the controversial nature of their purpose - to reduce harm related to illicit drug use by allowing users to inject while under supervision. The opioid crisis is affecting every part of Canada and appears to be progressing for the worst as the opioid-related death toll reached 3,987 in 2017, compared to 2,861 deaths in 2016 (Government of Canada). While safe injection sites receive an abundance of support, they also face a large amount of scrutiny, with some government officials claiming that injection of any sort is unsafe and a choice made by the consumer, one that the government holds no responsibility to protect or supervise (The Globe and Mail, 2018). On the other hand, supporters argue that the medically trained staff, an abundance of treatment options available, and non-judgmental environment are vital to an individual's recovery (The Globe and Mail, 2018). While the controversy surrounding supervised injection sites is inevitable, the issue of harm and death prevention stands to be a much larger issue, and Canada is in desperate need of realizing how many lives could be saved by supporting safe injection sites.
The claim that safe injection sites are helping instead of hurting the drug crisis is questioned by many Canadian citizens and government officials. Federal prosecutors Robert Frater and W. Paul Riley vocalize, in writing court documents, their uneasiness towards facilities that allow individuals to so blatantly disregard the law (The Globe and Mail, 2018). Moreover, they are not alone in their argument. In Ontario, PC Leader Doug Ford claims that injection sites are “feeding drugs to addicts” (Huffington Post, 2018). The discomfort towards safe injection facilities seemingly stems from these two expected, yet outdated points of view. While the idea of a facility where people can legally do illegal drugs is difficult to grasp, it is important to assess the epidemic that gave rise to the idea of establishing safe injection sites which will help present the argument in full light. In the mid to late 1990’s the drug epidemic spiraled out of control to the extent that Vancouver’s health authority had to declare a public health emergency due to a 19% increase in HIV infection from unsafe drug injections and 300 overdose cases which unfortunately led to fatalities. For perspective, if a facility such as Insite existed at the time, these 300 at-risk individuals would have been provided timely care and support from trained medical professionals, and thus these lives could have been saved and helped with resources for treatment. Access to life-saving medical facilities such as safe injection sites was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada against the petition by the then Conservative Government to close these harm reduction avenues. This landmark decision also helped in opening similar centers across Canada (Kerr et al. 14-28). The availability of a safe injection site has countless benefits to the user as well as the society, government and the healthcare system at large. Research proves that as a consequence of establishing safe injection sites, the chances of overdose mortality substantially go down as much as by 88 fewer deaths per 100,000 person, 67% less calls to ambulances due to emergencies involving overdosage and a marked decrease in HIV infections (Jennifer et al., “Does evidence support supervised injection sites?”).
Despite the benefits recounted above, safe injection...