Pubdate: Fri, 22 Jul 2016
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Page: 16
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.torontosun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Valerie Boyd
Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor.
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n479/a12.html

ADDICTS THE BEST?

Re "Council OKs injection sites" (Shawn Jeffords, July 15):

If Councillor Gord Perks really believes his statement when referring 
to drug addicts that "you are the best of us", then he obviously has 
more problems than the addicts themselves. When did drug addicts 
become "the best of us"? They certainly aren't the worst - that would 
be reserved for murderers and rapists - but to refer to them as "the 
best" is greatly insulting to just about everyone. The drug addicts 
did not agitate for a treatment centre or new treatment facilities of 
any kind. They agitated for an injection site where they could go and 
inject illegal drugs and not have to deal with people stepping over 
them in an alley. The only reason that Insite can brag about saving 
addicts from dying of overdoses is that there are medical personnel 
at the injection sites to revive them should they overdose anyway. 
The councillors have been fooled into thinking this is an acceptable 
lifestyle that should be enabled. We will soon see how wrong they are.

Valerie Boyd Woodbridge

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(Perks may have gone over the top but addiction is a disease, not a 
sign of moral failure)
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom