Pubdate: Sat, 06 Dec 2008 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Author: Diane McNally FEW BECOME DRUG ADDICTS BY CHOICE I'm on side with a recent writer's lack of enthusiasm for people using her front yard as a latrine. But I'm not onside with the simplistic claim that "people do drugs by choice." No one makes the conscious choice to be a strung out crack or a meth addict, desperate heroin addict or alcoholic. However addicts get started down that path, and many have gone there to quiet demons or kill the pain from abusive backgrounds, expecting them to just quit and get lives is unbelievably naive. This city needs more and better infrastructure right now to deal with a problem that is not going to go away. It takes a month to get an appointment with a publicly funded drug and alcohol counsellor. That's unacceptable. We need a needle exchange now. We need it in an area that addicts can easily access. What about an office in the Blanshard Building that houses the Ministry of Health? Diane McNally Victoria - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin