Mark Souder: “the problem with the science that is being argued on the other side is that it is just not there. The fact is that at…”

“the problem with the science that is being argued on the other side is that it is just not there. The fact is that at the very best, at the very best, there are mixed studies. It is clear that in Vancouver, that in spite of providing 2 million needles a year, they now have the highest incidence of AIDS and it is increasing. Vancouver has the highest heroin death rate in North America and is referred in The Washington Post as the ``drugs and crime capital of Canada.'' In Montreal we have seen the HIV-positive at twice the rate of addicts not in the program. Nearly 1,600 injection drug users found that those participating in the needle exchange programs had a 33 percent cumulative probability of HIV seroconversion compared to 13 percent of injection drug users who had not participated in the program. In the British medical journal ``The Lancet'' they said that injection drug users who participated in the Montreal needle exchange programs were two times more, not less, likely. The science at best is mixed here, and we need more research. But what is clear is that heroin is illegal, and we do not need the Government of the United States and the taxpayers of the United States to become needle traffickers in this country. Mr. Speaker, what kind of message are we trying to send when we are trying to work together on the drug war? Do we really want this to happen? A woman gets raped in the street by a heroin addict.…”