Insight...

Anyone else sick of hearing the debate on Insite Clinics?

The debate I keep hearing isn't about law, it's about what's best for Canadian citizens. The fact is safe injection sites work. At the very least they're a step in the right direction.

Department of Justice lawyer, Robert Frater, believes that changing drug laws to accommodate addicts is similar to changing arson laws to accommodate pyromaniacs.

Maybe if we treated arsonists by partnering them with demolition crews so they could safely torch a building in a safe, positive and maybe even healthy way. Maybe there would be less property damage and loss of life in this country due to arsonists.

Of course, that would just be a small step in rehabilitation. (I'm not sure how, it's still early and I just thought of it.)

What it comes down to is the safety and freedom of all citizens.

Junkies are going to shoot up no matter what the laws are. Here in Ottawa, cops don't even bother arresting street junkies. There's no point. It's a drain on the system and their jobs. All they do is stomp crack pipes on sidewalks and maybe rough up a junkie every now and then out of frustration.

And I don't blame them.

If Frater's precious laws prevented me from doing my job effectively, I'd be frustrated too.

So it's time to re-think some things. Safe injection sites keep a majority of the drug users off the streets, at least while using. There's less needles and pipes lying around, plus you're not walking your kids by a dingy alley where Crackhead Johnny is junking out with his sharpened screwdriver desperately looking for a fix.

Safe injection sites also help keep track of the using community. And it IS a community. Once you can keep track of users, people who are smarter than Frater can gather information and try to come up with ways to reduce drug consumption altogether.

Most importantly it puts users in easy contact with people who can help them should they want help. Remember, this is their lives, not yours. And last I remember, I'm free to choose whether or not I want to be a junkie, or a criminal, or a politician. So long as I'm not hurting anyone (unlike most politicians and lawyers) than what's the problem?

As it should always be, but rarely is; the question should be put to people on both sides of the front line: beat cops, social workers, community members and yes, even junkies themselves should be asked what works for them. What isn't working? What makes them feel safer and more free? And how can they contribute to help pay for the Insite service?

When's the last time a politician visited East Hastings to do their job?