FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GUTS Condemns Harper’s Anti-Drug Strategy as Inefficient
October 4 2007 (Guelph, ON)

[The Guelph Union of Tenants & Supporters] is shocked and deeply saddened by the Federal Conservative government’s choice to leave harm reduction initiatives completely out of its new anti-drug strategy.

GUTS strongly condemns the Harper administration’s attempt to use law enforcement as a means of dealing with addiction. Jared Binchu, a GUTS organizer, stated, “The funny thing about being over 50 years old is that you can remember Richard Nixon making the same idiotic arguments in his 1968 campaign speeches. The war on drugs has not worked. It will not work.”

GUTS believes that governments have attempted to use criminalization and law enforcement efforts in Canada since the early 1900s to stamp out folks dealing with drug addiction. “The problem is, it’s 2007 and the level of addiction has only gotten worse. The war on drugs is an abject failure. All it has done is allowed marginalized communities to be further criminalized, built up a prison industry, and destroyed families”, states Amy Hiljek, a GUTS organizer.

GUTS believes strongly that far too much money is being spent on law enforcement, and not nearly enough money is being spent on harm reduction initiatives. “This announcement today is for $60 million, with only just over $40 million going towards prevention and treatment across the entire country. The police in Guelph alone get almost $25 million dollars from the city. Apply that across the entire country and the bias in spending becomes sickeningly obvious”, states Jared Binchu.

GUTS currently provides clean needles, a place to dispense of dirty needles, clean crack pipes and accompanying supplies, condoms, socks, toothbrushes, and other harm reduction initiatives at its weekly picnics. This is all done with no government funding.

GUTS is calling on all levels of government to stop being heartless and fund harm reduction initiatives. “People are dying right now. HIV and Hepatitis are being spread right now. This type of disregard for human life is unconscionable. We need safe injection sites, street level harm reduction workers, safe crack kits, and much more right now!” states Amy Hiljek.

-30-

GUTS
Guelph Union of Tenants and Supporters
guelphunionoftenants@yahoo.ca
www.guelphtenants.com
519-830-8743