Steve M - I agree with you that safe injection sites are not a solution; they are just a $-sucking band aid that attracts more addicts to the DTES.

But we SHOULD feel sorry for these people because many do not face the same choices as most of us.  If they try to turn their life around, they may not have family support or a safe and stable home and income to increase the chance of success.

I lead a pretty cozy life but this week I found out that a man I've known since he was a sweet boy died of overdose.  He'd overcome a pain-killers addiction but relapsed after his mother died of cancer; he'd been her primary caregiver but after she was gone, there was no one to care for him.  He'd just turned 39.

Plus the housing situation in Vancouver is pushing many people into homelessness and addiction.  I'm ashamed of what Vancouver has become.  Every day I see 20 year olds sleeping in freezing weather, shoppers  holding Nordstrom's and Holts bags swerving to avoid them.