Any parent can imagine the grief and pain of a Colwood man who lost his daughter to drugs last week. Any parent can understand his plea to drug dealers to spare other families the same torment.
Debbie Porter, 49, was found dead in her home on Dec. 23 of a suspected drug overdose. It was one of eight probable drug deaths in one week.
Porter鈥檚 stepfather, Fred Lang, took the unusual step of appealing to drug dealers on Facebook:
鈥淢y wife and I call upon your compassion, sympathy and understanding and ask that you cease selling street drugs 鈥� at least at this time 鈥� in order that other families are not subjected to the grief we continue to experience.鈥�
Police and public health officials think that unusually powerful drug mixtures, possibly including the synthetic opioid fentanyl, are on the streets, and have warned users to take extra care.
Like all those who died, Porter was a person, not just a 鈥渄rug addict.鈥� She was getting ready to serve Christmas dinner in her home for street people. She had put presents for them under the tree.
鈥淚f you formed a mental picture of her standing there, and separated out the drug use and put it aside, what you would be left with is somebody who is kind and thoughtful,鈥� her stepfather said.
As Lang said, there is little hope that drug dealers will pay attention to a plea on Facebook, any more than they will pay attention to this editorial. But in case some of them are listening, we will add our voice: Whatever you are selling is killing people and devastating families. Just stop.
