My only role is picking the darn things up when I see them on the
sidewalks or lawns or parks or playgrounds in the school yards,
etc....& something has changed here from last Spring to this
Spring with respect to a drop in the volume of used needles
laying about. I don't know what has changed though....
At one time, I did call in (and they would send out a Firetruck to
eventually pick-up a used needle) but that didn't seem like a great
use of our tax dollars. Later on the Health Region was the group
that you'd call if you found a used needle...and they would come
out weekdays between 8am-5pm....or something along those lines.
So if you spotted a Needle on a Friday night...and didn't just pick it
up yourself...someone on a government wage would find it in about
72hrs maybe. Now it's a combination or the Health Region and the
Fire Department...depending on the time or day and what day it is.
The Health Region will SELL the public kits to clean up the used
Needles (for about $30) that are given out free to the Dealers &
Junkies though (the Needles are free, not the clean up kits). It's a
set of Tongs, rubber gloves, a tuperware container, & a VHS
cassette (people still use VCR's?) that explains the you should avoid
the pointy end of the needles. Hmmmm....It's actually illegal to pick-up
used needles and throw them in the next gargage can that you pass.
I guess that makes me a criminal.
What safe Needle sites do is....hopefully they reduce the spread of
disease (Hep, HIV, etc...) due to sharing of needles which will safe
the taxpayer (hopefully) money in the long run, and a nurse will
supervise the Druggie shooting up, to avoid overdose deaths so that
the Druggie can do that same thing again the next day. Hopefully it
also reduces the volume of dirty needles on the streets. Counseling is
also available to the Junkies as they shoot up. Then they can grab their
bowl of soup, a sandwich, a handful of condoms, and carry on with the
day.
I sound cynical 'cuz I am...but if it reduces the number of needles out in
the parks and schoolyards and play area's of daycare centers and such,
the safe injection sites help. Regina has Vans that drive around in the
evenings with free needles, and free soup & sandwiches, and free dubes.
A safe injection site would (hopefully) contain the litter to one place.