Pubdate: Wed, 08 Nov 2017
Source: Williams Lake Tribune, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Williams Lake Tribune
Contact:  http://www.wltribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1226
Authors: John and Jennifer Hedican

WE NEED TO VALUE LIVES OVER VOTES IN DRUG CRISIS

Editor:

The question is not when our government will decriminalize personal
possession and provide a safe clean drug source, like we do for
alcohol and soon to be marijuana, but how many more families will be
devastated with the loss of a loved one before a government is brave
enough to value lives over votes.

In Portugal, possession is not a criminal offence if you have a 10 day
personal supply in your possession. If it is more than that then it's
treated as trafficking. By decriminalizing personal possession, we can
then start to rid the negative stigma that is associated with addiction.

People are being poisoned and dying due to a clean source not being
available.

Research has shown that people can lead normal lives and positively
contribute to society if clean drugs are available.

Clean marijuana will be legal and offered for sale soon, just like
alcohol. Our oldest son, Ryan, first experimented with alcohol and
then marijuana. These gateway drugs led to him to using stronger
drugs, ending with heroin and his tragic death from a fentanyl
poisoning on Apr. 24, 2017.

How can our system legalize certain drugs, and then when people become
addicted to stronger ones, they are then treated as criminals for
simple possession? How can we provide safe injection sites, yet it is
illegal to have those substances in your possession?

With this current poisoning crisis, we know what will make a
difference:

Provide a safe clean source for opiates and other drugs, decriminalize
personal possession, like Portugal did, end the stigma of addiction by
treating it as the disease it is, not as a choice.

These things can stop the horrific and inexcusable number of deaths in
our families.

Contact your MP and MLA to tell our governments to do these things,
and save lives, now.

John and Jennifer Hedican

Courtenay BC
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MAP posted-by: Matt