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Increase you knowledge on the topic of Harm Reduction in Canada. The science stands firmly behind Harm Reduction - proving that it saves lives. Open your eyes, Open your mind.

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My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. - Jack Layton

In Response to an article published by the Calgary Herald in July 2013:
To the Editor of the Calgary Herald;
I was disappointed to read the article your paper wrote blaming Vancouver's InSite for actor Cory Monteith's tragic overdose death. It was without a doubt one of the most ill-informed and insensitive articles I have ever read. To imply that without InSite, individuals would be unable to procure heroin is absolutely ridiculous. So to the writer of this column, who chooses to further imply that no one has ever studied the effects of harm reduction within North America, and specifically within the lower east side... I would encourage you to look at the research. Harm reduction is saving lives and without a doubt strengthening a community that was in an epidemic of HIV and Hepatitis C prior to it's establishment. It does not give more individuals access to illicit drugs; it gives drug users access to healthcare. I am appalled that this article was published without any research or facts; but perhaps that was intentional. Because the facts do not support any of those claims. I'd also like to further point out heroin was around long before InSite, and is not being promoted by the facility. InSite does NOT supply drugs. The article stated "But no one ever asks how many people have died of drug overdoses who use the safe injection site as a legally safe place to procure drugs"; this statement has NO validity and should be addressed. The facility does NOT provide a legally safe place to procure drugs and in fact, "during 2007-2008 over 200 overdoses occurred at Vancouver's InSite, NONE of which resulted in fatality within the facility". That statistic comes from the research that Licia Corbella apparently is not aware exists; moreover, that research only further discredits the article as it illuminates the reality that the facility is saving lives. So before attacking an essential healthcare facility that has greatly benefited the City of Vancouver, as well as its residents by reducing transmission rates of HIV and Hepatitis C, REDUCING overdose deaths, decreasing paraphernalia within the community and providing addicts with an essential connection to healthcare; perhaps one should be aware of the FACTS.

Megan Cox

Should anyone choose to enlighten themselves upon what this facility actually does please see the attached references.

http://www.bccdc.ca/prevention/HarmReduction/default.htm

http://www.harmreductionvictoria.ca/

http://drgabormate.com/

https://www.facebook.com/harmreductionincanada?fref=ts

http://www.youtube.com/user/megatronthenurse?feature=watch

And here is that research you apparently were never aware of:

**Ball, A. L. (2007). HIV, injecting drug use and harm reduction: A public health response. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 102(5), 684-690.

Fast, D., Small, W., Wood, E., & Kerr, T. (2008). The perspectives of injection drug users regarding safer injecting education delivered through a supervised injecting facility. Harm Reduction Journal, 5

**Green, T. C., Hankins, C. A., Palmer, D., Boivin, J. F., & Platt, R. (2004). My place, your place, or a safer place: The intention among montreal injecting drug users to use supervised injecting facilities. Canadian Journal of Public Health.Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique, 95(2), 110-114.

**Kerr, T., Small, W., Moore, D., & Wood, E. (2007). A micro-environmental intervention to reduce the harms associated with drug-related overdose: Evidence from the evaluation of vancouver's safer injection facility. The International Journal on Drug Policy, 18(1), 37-45. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2006.12.008

**Leonard, L., DeRubeis, E., Pelude, L., Medd, E., Birkett, N., & Seto, J. (2008). "I inject less as I have easier access to pipes": Injecting, and sharing of crack-smoking materials, decline as safer crack-smoking resources are distributed. The International Journal on Drug Policy, 19(3), 255-264. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2007.02.008

**Insite. (2008). Insite by the numbers. Vancouver Costal Health. Retrieved from: www.vch.ca/ sis/docs/insite_numbers.pdf

**International Harm Reduction Association. (2009) What is Harm Reduction: A position statement from the international harm reduction association. Retrieved from: http:// www.ihra.net/ Assets/2316/1/IHRA_HRStatement.pdf

**Petrar, S., Kerr, T., Tyndall, M. W., Zhang, R., Montaner, J. S., & Wood, E. (2007). Injection drug users' perceptions regarding use of a medically supervised safer injecting facility. Addictive Behaviors, 32(5), 1088-1093. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.07.013

**Wodak, A., & Cooney, A. (2004). Evidence For Action Technical Papers: Effectiveness of sterile needle and syringe programming in reducing