Monday, April 18, 2011

Need More Reason to Dump Harper? Ask the Brits

One of the top medical journals, Britain's The Lancet, has published a resounding endorsement of Vancouver's Insite, safe injection centre.  Harper despises Insite and has been trying to get it shut down.  It is an affront to his darkest ideology.  So far the British Columbia courts have been holding the tyrant at bay.   Now, according to Reuters,  they'll have even more reason to send Harper's minions packing:

North America's only sanctioned facility for injection of illegal drugs has cut overdose deaths and should be used as a model in other cities, according to a study published on Monday in the Lancet medical journal.

The study came as Canada's highest court prepared to hear a lawsuit over the federal government's attempt to close down the Insite facility in Vancouver despite calls by local health officials and police to keep it open.

 Insite's critics say it promotes illegal drug use, and the federal government has said it wants to shut down the facility now that the medical trial period has ended. The United States has urged Canada to shut down the facility.

Two courts have blocked the government's efforts, ruling Insite needs to remain open as a needed medical service. Ottawa has appealed those rulings to the Supreme Court, which is expected to hear the case in May.

A commentary in Lancet accompanying the study's results said they demonstrated the facility's success and why additional sites should be opened across Canada.

"Supervised injection facilities clearly have an important part to play in communities affected by injection drug use," wrote Dr. Chris Chris Beyrer, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. 

4 comments:

Alison said...

Harpie never lets facts get in the way of his ideology. It has always been clear that Insite is a success, but he is only interested in destroying every last shred of decency and compassion in Canada.

LeDaro said...

Harper is building all these prisons. He needs clients for these prisons. So instead of providing treatment to addicts he will give them accommodation in his new slammers.

The Mound of Sound said...

Unfortunately, Alison, you're absolutely right. Stephen Harper will happily shrug off unnecessary deaths as the result of pursuing his rancid ideology. The lives of these people mean next to nothing to this supposedly devout Christian and his equally warped followers. For people who claim to believe in the Afterlife and the Day of Reckoning, their behaviour is awfully bizarre.

Uncommoner said...

It's not really that bizarre. You overlook the fact that in their twisted view of the world they are the Righteous. Of course their god will forgive them, because they see themselves as doing his work.

Thank you for this, I never would have known otherwise and I was arguing over the 'drug war' with a close friend (and conservative/catholic, *sigh*) just last night. One more arrow in the quiver for the next time.