Needle exchange in prisons makes sense

By Richard Elliott, Vancouver Sun

 

Re: Ideology, not reality, drives Tories' AIDS policy, July 24

 

Peter McKnight's column nicely showcased the flawed logic in the government's approach to HIV/AIDS, where relevant evidence is ignored.

 

One area not specifically addressed is the high rates of HIV and hepatitis C in Canada's prisons. We argue -with ample evidence to back it up -that providing clean needles and syringes in prisons would help curtail the spread of disease. More than 90 per cent of people in prison eventually return to society. Doesn't it make sense to ensure that the least possible number of them acquire infections while inside?

 

The rhetoric that we shouldn't offer "special treatment" to incarcerated people is not about condoning drug use; it's about helping prevent disease and death.

 

Providing needle exchange and improving access to addiction treatment are not mutually exclusive.

 

Needle and syringe programs exist in communities across Canada. They work. We support them, as do the Canadian Medical Association, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the World Health Organization and Canada's Correctional Investigator. Sadly, the federal government still flatly refuses to implement these needed health services in prisons.

 

Richard Elliott

 

Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network,

 

Toronto