With an unabating drug epidemic and the winds of political change in the air, interest is growing in the United States for a less punitive and more liberal war on drugs. 

One battle in this war is being fought, and won, in Canada by the City of Vancouver, British Columbia—and the tactics being used are controversial, to say the least.

No, not torture. In September 2003 Vancouver opened the first “safe injection site,” a legal facility for users of illegal narcotics. The facility is run by healthcare workers and funded by the provincial government, and it is the only facility of its kind in North America. It is called ‘Insite‘.

In July 2002 I travelled with a friend to Vancouver. We walked the streets of the then-notorious Downtown Eastside. Literally stepping over bodies and discarded needles, and politely declining invitations to enter alleyways, we met a young drug addict named Rob from Peterborough, Ontario. Boasting of his honesty, this former marathon runner told us he needed “$5 for crack.” We obliged, and were treated to a guided tour of misery, desperation, and sickness that exceeded anything I have ever seen in the developed world. 

At the time of our visit, Insite had just been established; it was highly controversial and still illegal. I remember doubting that it would survive but coming to believe that it was Vancouver’s only hope.

In a terrific (though slightly dated) article entitled The needle and the damage undone, Mark Follman from Salon.com considers the challenges and successes of Insite since its establishment, as well as its potential application in the United States. Check it out.