Canada and Safe Injection Sites
Across the globe there are millions of people who face addiction to injectable drugs every day, and a good portion of people within Canada are afflicted with this circumstance. Often the people most affected by the presence of these drugs in society are those whom suffer from mental illness, or those who are currently homeless. The uses of these drugs are dangerous and pose severe health concerns to those whom use them, and an often sad but common outcome of these drugs is overdose. However a way to combat this has been presented by the idea and presence of safe injections sites. All over the world safe injection sites have already made an impact in the cities where they are present. Having every major city …show more content…
There are several very aggressive infections that are spread through the re-use of needles, including but not limited to Hepatitis C, and Human Immune-deficiency Virus, or more commonly known as HIV, as well as other medical concerns such as abscesses, and other wounds. In the article by Kondro, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network Executive Director Ralf Jürgens said, “Some 34% of an estimated 4190 new HIV infections in 1999, and 60% of the 4000 hepatitis C infections diagnosed annually, are attributable to drug use” (1415). Under the supervision of the staff at safe injection sites they have access to clean needles, and are taught safer injection methods, creating an ultimately safer process which many can take with them, should they decide against using safe injection sites in the future, and furthermore teach to those around …show more content…
Many people who oppose the use of safe injection sites have tried to use the argument that the building, and the maintenance of these specific social programs would end up costing the government more, putting strain on the taxpayers of Canada. Doctors Ahmed Bayoumi and Gregory Zaric completed a research simulation on the cost effectiveness of these sites asserting, “The net costs of HIV-related treatment were lower with the facility that without such a facility. The net cost was negative, which indicated that the facility both saved money and improved life expectancy” (1147). This article highlighted that the fears felt by people who opposed facilities based on cost worth were unfounded, so much in fact that not only do safe injection sites save money, they do so without sacrificing other key components to do so. They managed to not lose money, while still successfully completing their objective to the highest standard applicable when dealing with clients of these
Across the globe there are millions of people who face addiction to injectable drugs every day, and a good portion of people within Canada are afflicted with this circumstance. Often the people most affected by the presence of these drugs in society are those whom suffer from mental illness, or those who are currently homeless. The uses of these drugs are dangerous and pose severe health concerns to those whom use them, and an often sad but common outcome of these drugs is overdose. However a way to combat this has been presented by the idea and presence of safe injections sites. All over the world safe injection sites have already made an impact in the cities where they are present. Having every major city …show more content…
There are several very aggressive infections that are spread through the re-use of needles, including but not limited to Hepatitis C, and Human Immune-deficiency Virus, or more commonly known as HIV, as well as other medical concerns such as abscesses, and other wounds. In the article by Kondro, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network Executive Director Ralf Jürgens said, “Some 34% of an estimated 4190 new HIV infections in 1999, and 60% of the 4000 hepatitis C infections diagnosed annually, are attributable to drug use” (1415). Under the supervision of the staff at safe injection sites they have access to clean needles, and are taught safer injection methods, creating an ultimately safer process which many can take with them, should they decide against using safe injection sites in the future, and furthermore teach to those around …show more content…
Many people who oppose the use of safe injection sites have tried to use the argument that the building, and the maintenance of these specific social programs would end up costing the government more, putting strain on the taxpayers of Canada. Doctors Ahmed Bayoumi and Gregory Zaric completed a research simulation on the cost effectiveness of these sites asserting, “The net costs of HIV-related treatment were lower with the facility that without such a facility. The net cost was negative, which indicated that the facility both saved money and improved life expectancy” (1147). This article highlighted that the fears felt by people who opposed facilities based on cost worth were unfounded, so much in fact that not only do safe injection sites save money, they do so without sacrificing other key components to do so. They managed to not lose money, while still successfully completing their objective to the highest standard applicable when dealing with clients of these