The Original:

There is a huge problem in Vancouver with heroin addicts committing crimes to support their habits. The “free heroin for addicts” program is doing everything they can to stop the addicts. The problem is that there is a large crime rate due to the addicts. It is obvious that addicts have a hard time getting through their day to day lives. Daily activities such as jobs, interactions, and relationships are hard to maintain because of the fact that they are using. By heroin users being addicted, they will do whatever they have to do to get their hands on the drug. The types of crimes committed are those of breaking and entering as well as stealing. There are no limits to where they will go to retrieve this drug so that they can feed their addiction. The problem with this program is that it won’t help to ween these addicts off using heroin. It is only trying to save the city from rising crime rates that they’re up to. By providing the drug, these addicts will be off the streets, which in turn will prevent them from committing minor street crimes. This will also keep the heroin users out of the hospital. It is pointless that the hospitals have to deal with people that want to use bad drugs or unsanitary needles and find themselves being unable to afford hospital bills and hard to cope without the drug. This program gives people free heroin in the cleanest way possible. This will in turn fix the city  but not the addiction that these people face.

The Rewrite:

Vancouver has been facing an astronomical amount of crimes committed by heroin addicts. To combat this, the city decided to fight fire with fire, or in this case, heroin with even more heroin, giving it out for free. Trying to balance a job and maintaining casual and romantic relationships is impossible if an addict using every day. Their need to use drives them to commit crimes, Vancouver’s main concern. Some of these crimes include, but are not limited to, breaking and entering, theft and robbery. These acts can lead to unnecessary injury and death. Giving heroin to your citizens may sound like a bad idea. It is. The city seemed to think it was a good idea to take the easy path and not tear the problem out at its roots; those roots being heroin. Giving addicts what they are looking for will stop them from causing the problems that stem from trying to obtain heroin, but having no addicts eliminates that problem as well as the problem of having addicts in the first place. Having addicts in the city causes more than just crime. Hospitals are filled with heroin users. Some are infected by dirty needles (parts of the US gave out free needles, an arguably better idea), some overdosing and dying. It is a waste of hospitals’ time when the city is filling their doors with addicts. Where one problem has been cut down more grow. The city and its hospitals and streets remain plagued by heroin.