59 Replies to “The First Amercan Health Minister”

  1. SOMA (state of mental apathy) is rife in leftist ranks, this move is not out of character. But they don’t actually get off the arse to go vote now do they?

  3. A recent article in the National Post informed us that needle injection/exchange sites have reduced the incidence of deaths from overdosing by 35%.
    Pity.

  4. Unless they pass out needles at the polling stations not many will show up anyhow.

  6. Junkies don’t vote, well most of them don’t but hay it’s early days perhaps they can troll east van for votes?

  7. A recent article in the National Post informed us that needle injection/exchange sites have reduced the incidence of deaths from overdosing by 35%.
    you’re talking about that like it was a good thing.

  10. I guess that means if the Torys get in again, Vandu,(Vancouver area network of drug users), the junkie union will go on strike, and do….er…don’t know what they will do, or not do…sorry!

  11. I am a fan of whatever works. Anyone who witnesses the hellhole that is the downtown east side of the most livable city in the world would agree that something must be done.
    My life experience suggests those statistics are hogwash and likely provided by biased scorekeepers. If Sheila Fraser audits Insite and verifies its usefulness than I would support it. Unfortunately I doubt that will ever happen and until it does I remain skeptical.

  12. “Page 10 – “legalize and tax marijuana””
    I’ve never understood why the potheads want pot legalized and taxed. What a bunch of morons!!!!
    I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that tobacco smokers are now thinking twice about that “legal” thing. I’d imagine they’d prefer the $3 cigs from the Sopranos rather than the $15 government approved ones anyways. Also, aren’t the tobacco smokers now smoking behind the dumpsters with the potheads anyways?
    Potheads are idiots!
    And so is StIffy. Perhaps he should go after the “prostitute vote”. There are plenty of fringe groups that are looking for some ‘main stream’ love; only, the Liberals are only a few steps from being out of the ‘main stream’.

  13. If Iggy isn’t using the garage at Stornoway, I suggest we set up the first shooting gallery there.
    Of course, that wouldn’t be very fair to Jack, would it?

  15. From the great Theodore Dalrymple/Anthony Daniels: “The average heroin addict has been taking it for a year before he develops an addiction…Heroin doesn’t hook people; rather, people hook heroin. It is quite untrue that withdrawal from heroin or other opiates is a serious business, so serious that it would justify or at least mitigate the commission of crimes such as mugging.”
    Here
    He also wrote a book about it, caled Romancing Opiates.

  16. So the Cons are going to lose the hallucinegenic vote?
    Of course if one is hallucinating one wouldn’t exactly know who they are voting for in any case!
    Are they handing out needles to type 1 diabetes sufferers as well? No…oh well that isn’t life threatening when they don’t get their insulin is it? “They’ve” solved that problem haven’t they?
    Oh yeah Dr. Banting, you know that dude that was knighted by His Majesty George VI for discovering insulin in Canada you say…
    Why on earth hand out needles to people with life threatening illnesses trying to preserve their lives, when others are finding new and inventive ways to lose it?
    But why be rational?
    Cheers
    Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
    1st Saint Nicolaas Army
    Army Group “True North”

  17. Liberal/NDP thinking
    If your caught smoking a legal cigarette, you’re subject to a $2,000 fine. But if you’re a junkie you get free needles and drugs.

  18. There was a time when vote buying through beers was legal, then they closed the bars on election day. Now the junkies get a permanent supply
    Iggy heading back to boston soon

  19. Homez @6:48 – “I’ve never understood why the potheads want pot legalized and taxed. What a bunch of morons!!!!”
    The point of these peoples’ lives is “stickin’ it to daddy and mommy; that’ll learn them for makin’ me go to bed early that time!”
    You think I’m wrong? Stickin’ it to the man can be your life’s philosophy, even if you’re a middle-class White kid.

  20. If you asked the average resident of Vancouver about what they thought appropriate treatment of junkies was I’m sure that being sent to a work camp on Ellesmere island would be at the top of the list. As Black Mamba has pointed out, opiate withdrawal is a short process which is far less dangerous than withdrawing from alcohol.
    The “safe injection sites” perpetuate all of the B&E’s that junkies perform to get money for heroin. It would be far more logical to decriminalize heroin possession and the availability of 100% pure heroin would reduce junkie numbers dramatically through overdoses.
    The Conservative “get tough on crime” approach is idiotic as prohibition has been shown to be a failure. All such a program leads to is corruption among police and the judiciary as criminal organizations buy off the necessary people to freely traffic in drugs. The best approach is decriminalization with no mitigation of sentences for people who claim “the drugs made me do it”. Making people responsible for their actions seems to no longer be fashionable in any of the political parties aside from Libertarians.

  21. REAL Women has been on the Insite case for years. Get this–from Real Women’s publication REALity,
    March/April 2010:
    “VANCOUVER’S DRUG INJECTION SITE
    “A crucial fact about the Vancouver drug injection site which is not widely known, is that the drug addict using the site is required to obtain his/her own illegally obtained drug which he brings onto the drug injection site for injection. This means that the addict must obtain the drug from drug traffickers using the money that has invariably been obtained from criminal activity. The cost of an addict’s drugs averages $350,000 annually.
    “There are 65 Vancouver police officers stationed in the five blocks surrounding the Vancouver injection site. These police officers are prohibited from charging the addict with possession, and, instead, are obliged to escort the addict into the injection site. This is a travesty of the criminal law.
    “The cost of maintaining the drug injection site in Vancouver is approximately $3 million per year.”
    (And, like Sarah Palin, these women are supposed to be “stupid”.)

  22. We recently had the pleasure of visiting Vancouver, and made our way through “Junkie Alley”. It was, shall we say, a “teachable moment” for our 13 y.o.
    Democrats and Liberals in action.

  25. Re. Fritz’s comment, I recall a news story pointing out that all of the Insite’s stats are provided by Insite personnel themselves and not by outside sources, such as an Auditor General.

  26. Where there are Junkies crime is high as is murder. He doesn’t include that in his little spiel.
    Including the distressing fact the users put the needles in children’s way at playgrounds where some congregate. Why bother disposing them at approved drug sites when most cant be bothered to take a bath.
    JMO

  28. Step on a crackhead; break your Mother’s back.
    Taliban* Jack LaytoNDP’s Red-Green Shift.
    Liberal Count Ignatieff was a stalking horse for the socialist Separatist Coalition.
    Who managed the Red-Green Shift?
    See socialist Bob Rae, Ad$Cam Chretien, Power Corp, et al.
    …-
    “Poll: NDP moves ahead of Liberals in ‘astonishing shift’
    Vancouver Sun”
    “*The tunnel that allowed 488 Taliban prisoners to crawl 1000ft to freedom
    The Independent”

  29. I absolutely LOVE IT that Count Iggula has come out in favor of these “safe” injection sites. Nice, understanding places with nice calm decor where the poor unfortunates can come and “safely” inject supposed opiates cut with whatever was handy, be it icing sugar, rat poison, flour or any other reasonably white substance.
    Hell of a policy, Iggy. You da man.

  30. Happenning in a Canadian city near you, not limited to Vancouver.
    Check out this ‘discussion board’ in the local ‘news’.
    A local is upset about needles on the beach.
    The health unit kindly gives instructions on how WE are to clean up after them.
    You are right loki…making people responsible for their own actions is not a popular concept.
    http://nugget.ca/Community/NewsDisplay.aspx?c=141244

  31. I’ve gone to the Insite web page. It’s like reading “1984”: doublespeak. The following is, verbatim, from the site (EMPHASIS MINE):
    Insite – SUPERVISED Injection Site
    A health-focused place for people to connect with health care services
    Since opening its doors in 2003, Insite has been a safe, health-focused place where people inject drugs and connect to health care services – from primary care to treat disease and infection, to addiction counselling and treatment.
    Insite is North America’s first legal SUPERVISED injection site. The BC Ministry of Health Services provides operational funding for Insite through Vancouver Coastal Health, which operates the facility.
    Insite operates on a harm-reduction model, which is a policy or program directed towards decreasing the adverse health, social and economic consequences of drug use without requiring abstinence from drug use.
    Clients are supported by a team of nurses, counsellors and support staff
    We have 12 injection booths WHERE CLIENTS INJECT PRE-OBTAINED ILLICIT DRUGS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF NURSES.
    Clients also have access to clean injection equipment such as syringes, cookers, filters, water and tourniquets. Nurses are available to repond to overdoses and meet the health care needs of clients. NO ONE HAS EVER DIED AT INSITE from an overdose even though, this year alone, MORE THAN 400 OVERDOSES OCCURRED AT THE FACILITY.
    Vancouver Coastal Health also provides addictions counsellors and support workers who connect clients to community resources such as housing and addictions treatment.

  33. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms prevents the Federal Gov’t from actually solving the problems.
    mike

  35. A high school friend killed himself with IV drugs. Took over 10 years but they all die in the end just takes awhile longer sometimes. He moved from Winnipeg to Vancouver for the accessibility of drugs, services, and mild weather. Much harder to be a homeless IV drug user in Winnipeg.

  36. Any MP voting in favor of a shooting gallery should agree to have in his/her personal neighborhood, or at least next door to his/her constituency office. That should be in the legislation. Then we’ll see how far it gets.

  37. There is a reason I continue to count on you to make my day Kate…your insightfull headlines. Iggy now in health…earlier in tourism..makes me think before the end of the week we are going to see..”Is There Nothing Iggy Can’t Do?” Great topics.
    bverwey

  38. “… Stickin’ it to the man can be your life’s philosophy, even if you’re a middle-class White kid.” Mamba
    Mamba you are absolutely correct, bang on.
    Thanks for the interesting book reference.

  40. Give addicts free drugs, as often and as much as they want. Those who OD will save healthcare costs, and emergency rooms will be less crowded. Addiction related crime will be reduced too.
    Seems like a win-win to me.

  41. I listened to a debate on CKNW recently that was promoting the shooting gallery on the East side. They were bragging about how it was saving lives.
    They actually compared this needle pit to a cure for cancer. Stating that we have no more right to deny this opportunity to the junkies than we would in denying a cancer cure to cancer patients.
    As though perpetuating (not curing or stopping) the junkie life-style was equal to curing a cancer patient who may be a mother or a doctor or a scientist or even a despicable university professor …
    The point is that if the junkie will never be anything more than a scummy, steal your shit for a hit homeless bum on the street possibly carrying and spreading AIDS or Hep C … why bother saving him or her?
    When a hard core junkies dies I see it as a win-win. That may sound heartless, but I am not a progressive, I deal in reality.
    I hate junkies almost as much as I hate their enablers.

  42. Good ol’ Trudeaupia…where diabetics have to pay for their needles but junkies get theirs for free.

  43. Abe: “Stating that we have no more right to deny this opportunity to the junkies than we would in denying a cancer cure to cancer patients.”
    Abe, please forward details of cancer cure to:
    CCS, c/o Daffidill Fund, Cancer Industry Inc., WHO/UN.
    c.c. Cracked Countlibcaca.

  44. I doubt the junkies will be sober enough to vote.
    The only problem is that the hundreds of bleeding hearts that will be getting jobs running these centres, will vote Liberal/NDP/Bloc/Coalition.

  45. “I doubt the junkies will be sober enough to vote.”
    Probably not,so the LPC had better get one of those U-Guelph style portable polls in place at Pigeon Park.
    Add all those drug victims to the guys in the “Correctional Facilities”, and you’ve got a pretty big (Liberal) voting block.
    Say,isn’t the DES of Vancouver Hedy Fry’s riding?

  47. I pine for the good old days when someone would just poison the heroin supply in the lower mainland and “shazaam” 35 less drains on the taxpayer. After watching a cousin clean up, and rebuild twice, his two rental houses in Van, I have little sympathy for this garbage. Yea a diabetic has to pay for their needles while we give out free Viagra and dope to these dopes. Welcome to Lieberalworld a little left and lower than hell. I should feel the love shouldn’t I, but it is hard.

  48. Rutherford had a guest on who co-wrote the report about In-Site.
    In a two year period they calculated a reduction of 23 deaths in an area 5 block radius around In-Site. Didn’t hear if those 23 fewer deaths were at all drug-related. The reduction sounded to be attributed soley to In-Site.

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