Safe Injection sites in Canada
Safe Injection sites in Canada
While there might be so much debate on the issue of safe drug injection site it might help in reduces cases of deaths due to drug use. The drug-related deaths have been increasing In Canada over the past few years. Due to these issues, there has been a thought in several cities to introduce safe injection sites. These sites ensure that people can still use drugs but within the environment that is safe and where they cannot overdose. The future of such a move remains skeptical as such critics say that this would encourage drug and crime in the surrounding communities. There is a bill in some states in the US such as California that awaits greenlight of a pilot injection site. There is a concern about whether this should be the approach that the government should take.
On the other hand, the proponents of this policy argue that it would heling in saving the lives of the people and also ensure that they can reconnect with their family members and the society at large. The idea is that these people will come out of the dark alley, fear, and shame, and thus they would be safe and get some care and compassion. The approach is within the policy of harm reduction within public health and seeks to reduce the harm or drug use.
| Substance abuse is a significant cost to the economy of the country. | · According to the Canadian center of substance abuse costs 8 billion annually
· About 20% of violent crimes in Canada can be attributed to alcohol use. · The cost related to the loss of productivity is about 15.7 billion or about 40% of the cost · Healthcare cost was approximately $11.1 billion almost 30 percent of the total cost · The criminal justice system is third in the total substance-related cost with an expenditure of about $9 billion
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| The rate of drug-related issues in the country has also been high. | · 47,000 of death in Canada are related to substance abuse
· About 23 percent of the Ontario students are offered or sold drugs · 42% of the students and Ontario used illicit drugs in 2015. · 83% of grade 12 students in Ontario use alcohol (Fischer et al.) |
| The issue of drug abuse has a relationship with crime | · The revenues generated from drug sales are about 5-7 billion every year.
· The CSIS estimates that the country has about 950 organized criminal gangs · Eighty percent of these groups get their revenues from the sale of illicit drugs. · 14 gangs operate to carry out their operation in divisions. · In the year 2007, the illegal trade in drugs hit a high within 30 years (Tupper et al.). |
| Most of the people that are affected by drugs are youths | · 60% of the drug users in the country are aged between 15 and 24 years.
· The teens that are involved in drug abuse are at risk of short term memory loss, anxiety, depression, decreased appetite, psychomotor retardation, panic attacks, cardiovascular diseases, psychosis and hypoxia (Enns et al.). |
| The sites in Vancouver have been effective | · The site has offered services to about 3.6 million people since its inception in 2003
· Within the period there have been about 6,440 interventions on overdose and 49,000 visits · In the first year of operation, clients reported 70% less likelihood of sharing syringes. · 57% of the individual that frequented the sites initiated addition treatment · 23 of the individuals said cessation of injection throughout 24 months (Enns et al.) |
Works Cited
Fischer, Benedikt, Michelle Pang, and Mark Tyndall. “The opioid death crisis in Canada: crucial lessons for public health.” The Lancet Public Health 4.2 (2019): e81-e82.
Tupper, Kenneth W., et al. “Initial results of a drug checking pilot program to detect fentanyl adulteration in a Canadian setting.” Drug and alcohol dependence 190 (2018): 242-245.
Enns, Eva A., et al. “Potential cost‐effectiveness of supervised injection facilities in Toronto and Ottawa, Canada.” Addiction111.3 (2016): 475-489.