Last week, I wrote that unless we use Singapore鈥檚 solution to hang drug pushers, we will never defeat the opioid epidemic in North America. This week, a strong response from readers.
A police officer in a major 91原创 city writes: 鈥淚 wonder why we have a law that says a drug is illegal, yet the law supervises injection sites to consume illegal drugs.鈥� He adds: 鈥淯nfortunately, our lawmakers do not have the gonads to protect citizens against flagrant abuses.鈥�
A Times 91原创 reader writes: 鈥淚, too, have been in Singapore. I recently talked with a medical student who was horrified I supported hanging drug dealers. He wanted life imprisonment, but why pay for their room and board? Unfortunately, our society uses Band-Aid solutions.鈥�
From Kelowna: 鈥淲e are well on the way to a medical tsunami. These injection sites are nothing more than drug-facilitation centres.鈥�
But not all readers sent me roses. C.K. writes: 鈥淲hat about the role played by doctors and pharmaceutical companies in opioid addiction? Should we put these people to death as well?鈥澛� 聽
Other critics said: 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 we stop helping people with heart disease, diabetes and lung cancer? After all, they usually cause their own destruction.鈥�
But more than 90 per cent of readers sent their approval.
I think the ministers of Health and Justice could learn a lot from reading these e-mails.
For instance, from Nanaimo: 鈥淚 strongly object to my money being spent on free needles and free injection sites for addicts. Why should we support them?
Don鈥檛 they understand that drugs kill? The politicians and do-gooders are building themselves lucrative empires. Let鈥檚 arrest any drug dealer
and inject them with fentanyl! The money saved could be spent on low-cost housing for the homeless.鈥�
Others worried that today there is no such thing as personal responsibility. And that the remark of Singapore鈥檚 authorities that North Americans had become 鈥渋rresponsibly permissive鈥� was putting it mildly.
I wish to thank all those who took the time to contact me. You provided several hours of thoughtful reading.
