I am appalled by the Dec. 29 letter to the editor written by Anthonie den Boef and by other writers who agree with his sentiments.
While I am frustrated by the prevalence of addiction in this society, and I agree that we need better methods of rehabilitation, Den Boef’s simplistic ideas are not the solution for such a complex issue.
When presented with a person who is in physical crisis, how would Den Boef make the life or death decision to withhold assistance simply because that person might be an addict? Would he take the time to search computer databases to see if the person had been resuscitated previously? Who then gets to decide who deserves to be resuscitated and who does not?
As a society we don’t execute rapists and murderers, so why should we abandon our humanity when faced with addiction? We have decided not to deal with the causes of drug addiction; instead we have chosen to pursue a failed “war on drugs” that has created untold misery, continues to cost a fortune, and has only made the problem worse.
I suspect that the addicts from whom we have the most to fear are not drug addicts, but are those who are addicted to money and power.
Kevin Monahan
Qualicum Beach