Friday, May 04, 2007

Spin Doctors Without Borders

CathiefromCanada is furious with Canadian Press for publishing, without comment, a report critical of Vancouver's safe drug injection site written by a group who opposed Insite even before it opened its doors.
As Cathie points out, the CP headline "New report suggests Vancouver's safe-injection site a failure" gives undeserved credibility to what is basically ideological tripe.

The Drug Prevention Network of Canada is an offshoot of , wait for it , the Drug Prevention Network of America. It is headed up by Calvina L. Fay of Drug Free America, Save Our Society From Drugs, and Drug Watch International, dedicated to "combating the drug legalization movement globally".
An advisor to Bush on drug policy issues, you may have heard her on the news recently proselytising against the medical use of marijuana for cancer patients. Yeah! - War on drugs!

But let's have a look at the Board of Directors for the Canadian branch of DPNC :
~ Randy White - Reform and Alliance Party MP for 12 years, right up until he went public with the idea of using the "notwithstanding clause" to prevent the passage of SSM and that was the end of him - too hot for Harper.
~ Gwen Landolt - VP of REAL Women of Canada. Thanks for all your fine work fighting Status of Women Canada. I especially liked your argument that shelters for battered women are discriminatory because there aren't comparable shelters for battered men.
~ a couple of graduates from the Scientology Narconon Program, now working as drug counsellors...

OK, that's enough of that - you get the idea.
Rather than writing and commissioning social policy, these people should be stranded on a desert island until they have properly mastered the art of playing a conch.

6 comments:

RossK said...

This is 'Whirlitzering of the Worst' kind.

The absolute worst.

Anonymous said...

It's in Macleans too as:

Is Insite over-rated? -
New report suggests Vancouver's safe-injection site a failure

Anonymous said...

Dianetics and the War on drugs - they're both conjobs of the worst order, making a buck off rubes.

Jennifer Smith said...

I just left a message on the DPNC website asking if they happen to have a press release regarding the publication of this report. If they do, it will be interesting to see how closely it matches the text of the CP article.

I'll let you know if they respond.

Alison said...

Excellent idea, Jennifer. Good for you.
Looking forward to hearing how they respond.

Anonymous said...

Do you think this outfit might be the sort to contribute to Harper's election campaigns? Who'd believe it, eh! Big surprise.

Insite will stay because it is necessary, it is doing good work, and BC needs to be welcoming very welcoming in the near future...

One site in one city can't change a country, but it would be more helpful if people took a look at the issue before condemning it out of hand. People should know how many people got help, or how many live more safely for everyone, and how cleanliness and safety tends to be a good thing in society.

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