Governor-elect Charlie Baker's concern about the opiates prescribed for his son's injury is well placed ("Baker to target opiate addiction"). The root cause of the opiate epidemic, which is the leading cause of accidental deaths in Massachusetts, is legal prescription drugs.

I have heard firsthand from countless families whose loved ones became addicted to painkillers that were initially prescribed by doctors for short-term pain issues or from teenagers experimenting with unused prescription drugs unwittingly stored in the family medicine cabinet. Once one is addicted to these opiate-based painkillers, heroin is a cheaper alternative.

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In response to Michael Kryzanek's column on drug use on the South Shore, I am speaking for all of us, and trust me, there are more of us than he can imagine. Opinions like his are why the stigma of the old days stays with people living in 2005. This is why good parents, parents who have done everything they could do as a parent to bring their children up in a safe and drug-free world, are judged and accused of being neglectful to their children.

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