SPIRALLING ADDICTION

Public-health doctors John Blatherwick, David Marsh and Perry Kendall
are at the forefront of most of the drug-substitution, harm-reduction
strategies for addicts in Vancouver.

All their projects have had little or no effect.

I sense public opinion is changing, as people tire of initiatives
like free heroin, safe-injection sites, needle exchanges, methadone
maintenance, etc.

No drug will create any long-term solution for the addict or society.
Addicts can only change with a healing of the spirit, and no amount
of drugs will facilitate that change. These drug distributions cost
taxpayers millions, and divert dollars from our broken health-care system.

They lead to spiralling addiction rates, and we still have one of the
highest rates of Hepatitis C and HIV in the western world.

How much damage is being done to our reputation as a beautiful city
and how many kids will be hooked on drugs and die as prevention and
treatment strategies take a back seat to this one-pillar
harm-reduction sideshow?

Barry Joneson, Burnaby