Safe injection works in Vancouver, and it can here

published on January 25, 2017 by Andrew Lewis, in Crosscut

The Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, is infamous for its open-air drug markets. In recent years, heroin, the neighborhood’s traditional drug of choice, has given way to fentanyl, a cheaper and more potent substance.

More than 159 people lost their lives to drug overdoses in Vancouver last year, a majority of them to fentanyl, most of them taking drugs while alone. However, there was one place in Vancouver without a single fatal overdose, Insite; a safe consumption site where people suffering from addiction self-medicate under medical supervision. To date Insite has had 4,922 patients overdose under their supervision; not a single one has died. Credit the presence of other people who can ensure help is summoned.

As Seattle and King County move forward on what could be the first in the nation safe-consumption sites for drug users, a common refrain has been heard from critics: Won’t that lead to more crime? It is well known there are large correlations between drug use and crime, and the assumption of a causal relationship between safe consumption sites and crime rates seems reasonable at first glance. However, studies measuring crime rates around Insite suggest no such correlation between Insite and increased crime.

In fact, some research suggests such sites reduce crime, and Seattle may be even better positioned than Vancouver to capitalize on the crime reduction possibilities of safe consumption sites through our successful Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program (LEAD).

Two peer reviewed studies, one published by Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy in 2006 and another published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2004 examined crime and public order in the neighborhoods directly surrounding Insite. The 2006 study compared Vancouver Police Department crime statistics for 2003, the year Insite opened, and 2004, Insite’s first full year of operation. Specifically, the study looked at drug trafficking, assaults and robberies, and car thefts and prowls. The study found no significant change in drug trafficking (124 in 2003 vs. 116 in 2004) or assaults and robberies (174 in 2003 vs. 180 in 2004). However, the study found a considerable decrease in car thefts and prowls of 25 percent (302 in 2003 vs. 227 in 2004).

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BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Safe injection works in Vancouver, and it can here

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