Friday, April 08, 2016

Safe Injection Sites


Some residents in Ottawa are grappling with the idea of opening a safe injection site for drug users. Based on a December 2015 study competed by St. Michael's Hospital it is evident there would be little financial benefit associated with a safe injection site. Trying to get the public's support for this endeavour is similar to the challenges in trying to get people to fund lung cancer research. Both are situations where some people may believe the individual with the illness holds some responsibility in getting to where they are. Even in those cases where people developed lung cancer through exposure to second-hand smoke and not personal use, it has still been a challenge to garner a lot of public attention for funding lung cancer research. Getting people on side for safe injection sites is even more of a challenge. Although Mayor Jim Watson has stated there's no right or wrong answer and only opinions, they are polarizing in nature. Trying to bridge that gap to find the right answer without being influenced by our personal sentiments is no easy task.

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