The debate on whether drugs should be recriminalized or not has gained everyone’s attention in the last couple of years [“Social worker from qathet shares experiences treating addiction,” November 21].
As a person who really cares about my friends and family’s health and well-being, I believe drugs should get recriminalized instantly.
Why recriminalize drugs? Why not take the health approach to addiction?
The answer is quite simple; the death rate increased by five per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, instead of decreasing. The health approach to drugs has not worked as there were three hundred more deaths compared to the previous year and drug use has gotten higher in general.
All that decriminalizing drugs has done is encourage more people to use drugs and emphasize that drugs are okay to consume. Our future is in danger because we are putting everybody’s lives at risk unnecessarily by promoting drugs, which can cause people to lose loved ones.
As responsible BC citizens, we should send letters to premier David Eby to recriminalize drugs to save lives, and anyone who tries to seek help for getting rid of addiction should not be charged. A better idea is that people who get charged for using drugs should be sent to rehabilitation centres instead of prison.
The focus should be on how to get rid of someone’s addiction, rather than providing them more drugs and calling it safe.
Divyam Puri,
Powell River
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