Vancouver supervised assisted injection facility Essay

Vancouver supervised assisted injection facility - Essay Example It had strategic purposes to support its mission listed as; improving quality of life for the illicit drug users and their environment, harm reduction and health promotion, empowerment of the illicit users to live productively. This led to the formation of safe injection centers that administer the drugs safely to the addicts. This essay will present a sustained analysis of social and economic impact of the assisted injection facility located in Vancouver. In particular, I argue out the pros and cons of the facility using a two part survey, chronological order. First, I will consider materials crediting this facility, then to those that show its disadvantages written from 2000 till recent. I will show give brief accounts that indicate the demand for these facilities. A rough estimate of 15,000 people inject illicit drugs, this excludes the occasional users. Injection drugs are often accompanied with severe health and social consequences for the users and their society at large. Increased infections, death and the accompanying costs are the distressing indicators of harm experienced within our society. These problems have grown immensely over the years and drastic measures should be taken. Safe injection facilities have remained an integral part of effective harm reduction strategy placed in Europe. They are associated with an array of positive health and social results including; less drug use, fewer drug related overdoses, reduced disease transmission, less public nuisance associated with drug abuse, less drug related crime and more drug users referred for treatment. These centers also help in sustaining contact with the most marginalized and chaotic users who inject in public. Let us now view the Vancouver context. Estimated 10-20% injective drugs users reside in Vancouver. This population has experienced increased HIV/AIDS prevalence, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and other