Letters to the Vancouver Sun: Lives saved by overdose prevention could be lives you care about

File photo of the proposed site of the Thomus Donaghy Overdose Prevention Site. Photo by Doug Quan/PNG

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It is staggering that provincial Health Minister Josie Osborne is now “pausing” the DTES overdose prevention site she earlier described as critical health care.

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My relative was on the street for several years, addicted to opioids. It took nine months to get into detox and treatment, but he now has over a year in recovery. He’s been working full-time for six months. People can and do recover from addiction.

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But until then, they cannot simply stop. Without the drugs, they become severely ill. And street drugs are dangerously inconsistent and contaminated. Overdose prevention sites allow people to live long enough to get into our scarce detox and treatment beds. Housed people also use these sites, because they want to live.

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Too many people think none of their loved ones use drugs. Death from overdose is when they find out differently. The lives that overdose prevention sites save could be lives you care about.

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Grace Golightly, North Cowichan

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Pope’s wariness of AI is justified

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Re: Pope enters debate on AI, says it should be ‘disarmed’

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Like the Pope, I am a mathematician by training. I’m not a religious person, but I agree with Pope Leo’s concern that AI needs to be more “human-friendly.” While the Pope’s actual comments were mostly about protecting humanity from the dangers of AI systems that could select targets for military attacks and whose capabilities could include dominating humanity, I can’t help thinking that he might also be worried about Christians abandoning the church for direct access to the divine. Just Google “Jesus AI” or “Chat with God AI” for spiritual guidance and you can have your questions and prayers answered in seconds. This is rightly a concern not just for the Catholic Church but for all religious institutions. As someone who is skeptical about the benefits of AI, I welcome the Pope’s advocacy to protect humanity from its dangers.

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Richard Hoover, Delta

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Lucky to have watched Vancouver grow from a very small city

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My first glimpse of Vancouver was in July 1959. I was a new stewardess with Trans Canada Airlines, and it was my first time flying to Vancouver.

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The weather was beautiful and I wanted to have a good look at the city. I bused into the city. There was a tour going to see the sunset from Whytecliff Park near Horseshoe Bay, so I signed up for it.

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I was enthralled with the bus trip over the Lions Gate Bridge with an incredible view of the coastal mountains. We headed west on Marine Drive through West Vancouver. I was completely captivated by the beauty of the drive, which seemed like a country lane. I kept thinking to myself, “This is where I’d like to live.” As fate would have it, in 1964 I met my husband in Vancouver while on a visit from Toronto. I soon transferred to Vancouver and married in 1965. We purchased our little house in West Vancouver, where I live to this day.

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How lucky I’ve been to live here and watch Vancouver grow from a very small city into the gem it is today.