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Have you heard of ‘safe-injection sites’? Some addicts who use drugs intravenously share needles or pick up used needles wherever they can find them – very dangerous as they risk contracting HIV or hepatitis C. Safe-injection sites were developed to prevent those diseases – the addict goes to the site, is given alcohol and cotton balls, rubber tubing to tie off (so they can expand the vein they’re shooting into), and a clean needle. They’re also provided with a clean area in which to do the injection, and a cubicle to rest for a minute before they leave. The system also reduces death by overdose and crime. A safe-injection site in Vancouver, Canada, is now adding a drug detox program and an aftercare area to help the local addicts get off drugs.

It is not uncommon for addicts to have moments when they decide they want to kick. But those moments are often short-lived: A few hours or a day or two later, they’ve changed their mind. The safe-injection site in Vancouver wants to be able to take advantage of those brief windows in time by getting addicts into drug detox the moment that decision is made. Even a day later may be too late.

The distressing thing about this is that they will only have 12 beds. Even more distressing is the fact that those 12 beds bring the total number of drug detox beds in Vancouver up to 53. According to the B.C. Center for Excellence in HIV/Aids, one area in the city, the Downtown Eastside, has the most visible drug problem in Canada: In the 11 year period from 1992 to 2002, there were 2000 overdose deaths in that area alone, about 30% of the addicts are HIV positive, and more than 90% have hepatitis C. And 53 beds for drug detox. Disaster.

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