GIVING DRUGS TO ADDICTS IS A CHEAP FIX

Re: Provide drugs to addicts, April 21

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan refers to his plan to give addicts free
drugs as "innovative."

Oh, Sam. Giving addicts free drugs is not innovative, nor is it
especially compassionate or kind. It's relatively inexpensive. It's
perhaps a short-term solution (as drugs of any kind generally are) to
the distress of exclusion and the pain of withdrawal.

Drug addiction in and of itself is not a disability or an illness.
It's a result of a series of conditions and decisions made by
government, policy-makers, medical professionals, service providers
and the people using the drugs. People don't need heroin or crystal
meth in the same way that some people need insulin or wheelchairs (as
Sullivan and others have suggested). People need access to housing,
educational opportunities, something to believe in, strong social
bonds: a stake in the future of their city, and the resources and
responsibility to engage.

Since the Vancouver Agreement was signed six years ago, the lives of
the citizens of the Downtown Eastside have not noticeably improved.
Sullivan's proposed solution to the "problem" of the Downtown
Eastside is more cynical and less humane than the inadequate measures
we have in place now. Sure. Free drugs. Great. Might keep "them"
docile, more orderly. It's much cheaper than giving them access to
resources, a stake in the decisions that shape our city, or real
inclusion and equality.

Erin Graham

Vancouver