ACTION NEEDED TO FIX DRUG PROBLEM

To the editor:

Re: "The Kerrisdale fix," Nov. 17.

Our recent civic election has created a media frenzy over the use of drugs
in Vancouver.

As citizens are confronted with the ramifications of safe injection sites,
I wonder how many people have even bothered to read the 88-page Framework
for Action document?

Drugs are everywhere. They are very visible in the Downtown East Side, but
they are undoubtedly used in more affluent neighbourhoods by adults and
children with the resources to conceal their procurement and use from the
general public. There are probably more social and casual users of drugs on
the West Side than there are addicts in the Downtown Eastside, and herein
lies the problem-casual use and social use can lead to addiction.

The Framework for Action document addresses the problem head-on, outlining
municipal, provincial and federal responsibilities in the four-pillar approach.

To do nothing will only exacerbate the problems that already exist.

Keith Kennedy

Vancouver