I just finished reading Jean Marbella's article regarding heroin addiction ("Baltimore County family struggles with impact of heroin's grip," March 21), and while my heart goes out to any parent who loses a child, I am getting tired of hearing the sob stories of people who make a bad choice by using heroin.
No one forces an addict to use heroin. No one held them down and injected them with the drug. Heroin use was a decision that person made. Why is all of society made to feel responsible for each person who is addicted to heroin or has died from its use?
Tens of millions of tax dollars are spent on these people because they made a bad decision. Crime flourishes because of their drug use. First responders now carry naloxone to treat these people who overdose. Why don't all first responders carry insulin? I, like thousand of other Marylanders, am diabetic. Shouldn't my medical condition be treatable by a first responder?
I guess the plight of a heroin addict is more important than someone who has a life-threatening allergic reaction and needs an injection of epinephrine that is not carried by a first responder. I guess that, as with any other social ailment, everyone is supposed to believe that a heroin addiction is not the fault of the user but the fault of someone else.
When will people be held responsible for their own decisions?
Melvin Lindsay