I go to Vancouver a few days a week for work and see the blight of legalized drug use as I make my way through the downtown core.
People are openly shooting up drugs on the public sidewalks. Over the past 10 years, the number of annual overdose deaths in British Columbia has gone from 270 in 2012 to 2,272 last year. In the first three months of 2023, nearly 600 people have died from overdoses, the second highest total recorded for that period since a public health emergency was declared in 2016, so whatever metrics the NDP pushes, more people than ever are still dying.
Everything that is being promoted to reduce drug use for the last 20 years has failed. Instead of reducing drug use, the NDP has opened the flood gates of mass addiction.
The government must stop spending taxpayer money on buying drugs for addicts and start funding treatment.
But hey, plastic straws are illegal. We are making progress.
Patrick Smyth, Whistler
