Insite is called the only “safe-injection site” (SIS) in North America where addicts can legally inject hard drugs under medical supervision. Governing the States and Localities highlighted the facility in a February 2013 health and human services article saying “officials describe Insite as the first rung on the ladder from chronic drug addiction to recovery.” Not without controversy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is said to be one of the critics and there have been repeated efforts to shut the the operation down. Today the Vancouver Sun reports a BC-based national coalition of drug policy experts have denounced the Harper government’s aggressive war on drugs, which puts the emphasis on law enforcement while steering money away from harm-reduction initiatives like Vancouver’s supervised injection site.
