NEEDLE EXCHANGE: NEXT STOP, PORTLAND

Editor, The News:

As a heartless, taxpaying citizen of British Columbia, Canada, I would like
to ask Matt Tyson of Portland, Ore. what right he has to tell me, or any
other Canadian taxpayer, how our dollars should be spent ('We should lend
hand to all people,' Opinion, Sept. 1)?

As I stated in my previous letter, drug addiction is a self-imposed affliction.

Why, then, should I and other taxpayers pay to help make the habit more
pleasurable?

Who said that drug users should be imprisoned? I didn't.

However, it may be to their benefit if they were given a ticket to Oregon,
where I'm sure Mr. Tyson would be happy to help them make their addiction
more pleasant.

Those who sell drugs are another matter.

If they have emigrated to Canada in the last 10 years, then send them back
to where they came from. A claim of refugee status would be unacceptable.
Those who have been in Canada longer than 10 years who are found guilty of
growing, selling or in any way dealing in drugs should get a minimum
25-year sentence - or a ticket to Portland.

James Murray
Abbotsford