Introduction It doesn’t take a scientist to tell you that Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has a drug problem. Junkies can be seen shooting up in alleys, high on street corners, and selling dope to fellow junkies. In addition the obvious threat of death by drug overdose, drug users face issues of HIV and Hepatitis virus infection along with bacterial infection. These problems were addressed by the opening of Insite—North America’s first supervised safe injection site. Based on a model of harm reduction implemented successfully in several European nations, Insite provides a safe and clean environment for intravenous drug users to inject…
in which, with respect to our name, we are as confused as you are
By Alvin Lim
Alvin is currently in the 4th year of his BSc in Genetics & Cell Biology. He is currently working on a directed studies project in the UBC Psychobiological Determinants of Health Lab, and is looking at the epigenetic basis of psyconeuroimmunology. Outside of school and work, he spends countless hours scrutinizing over what to do after he graduates--any suggestions or life lessons would be much appreciated :)