Supervised consumption sites bring memories of butting out inside
By Letter to the Editor on September 4, 2019.
It took years for politicians to finally admit that smoking was bad for your health and it actually killed people. Then it took another decade or two for governments to get serious about smoking. Remember this is a legal product that governments are collecting a “sin” tax on. The first thing they did was make it illegal to smoke in restaurants and over the years things escalated to the point of public shaming anyone “addicted” to the nasty cigarette. About 10 years ago, the government banned smoking in all indoor place with public access. That included your corner pub, the casino and I remember the bingo halls all went smoke-free because society demanded it and governments welcomed it. I remember when the bingo hall in Calgary I frequented put up a tent where smokers could go and find some relief from the government’s new public policy. Well, the government said, no, you cannot have a tent. As a matter of fact, people can no longer have a smoke on any hospital property. Now we see people in wheelchairs lined up on sidewalks and smoke in -30 C weather. Talk about shaming people that are trying to feed their addiction. People know it’s bad for them and who cares if it’s an addiction, we will shame them into submission with no or very little “harm reduction” avenues for people to use. Now let’s for a minute compare that to the addiction of illegal drugs and how some people want to give the addict a warm place to feed an addiction that could and possibly will kill them. Remember the tent the smokers couldn’t have? Well, there’s no lining up on the sidewalk when its -30 C for the addict that is using the illegal stuff. Why have we taken such drastic measures with people smoking tobacco which is a legal product only to have some people and some politicians think they can justify a safe haven for the junky using an illegal product. Will these supervised consumption sites allow people to smoke a cigarette in them?” Oh yes, the irony. Come inside out of the cold and shoot your vein full of poison and then go outside in -30 C and have your cigarette. Les Landry Redcliff, Alta. 9-8
