Get to root of opiate epidemic

Re Act on overdoses, Editorial Sept. 27

The fact that a person calling 911 to get help for a drug overdose victim runs the risk of being arrested and charged is a glaring example of how drug addiction has become criminalized in our society and reinforces stigmatization.

While harm reduction strategies such as making naloxone readily available to opiate users in the event they overdose is a noble idea and can save lives, it is at best a band-aid solution to the problem of drug addiction in our society.

The epidemic of opiate and heroin addiction currently sweeping across our communities cannot be treated in isolation from the social, economic and cultural context in which it thrives.

Any success in responding effectively to the problem of drug addiction must take these factors into account, otherwise the endless cycle of despair, degradation and death will continue unabated. John Wade, Pickering, Ont.

Odd there is no historical evidence of death from opioid overdose by Chinese opium smokers or U.S. troops stationed in Vietnam during the 1970s. Opioids have been in existence for hundreds of years with no evidence of people dying, so death by opioid overdose appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon.

Drug policy reforms need to be made that don’t criminalize drug users but until that time (under a different government), small steps that include a wide availability of naloxone and Good Samaritan laws should be realized. My first thought after reading this article: Toronto needs a safe injection site. Ross Reynolds, Toronto