LAWS ARE LAWS, EVEN AT A CONCERT

Editor:

Re: Rules Go Up in Smoke, the Herald, Jan. 21.

The Snoop Dog/Ice Cube concert recently held at the Enmax Centre was
a marvelous display of the incompetence of organizers and law enforcement.

I was one of the fortunate who was not at the concert, but if The
Herald's reporting was accurate, it sounds as if chaos reigned
supreme, and lawlessness was not only ignored but encouraged from the stage.

While enforcement of drug laws and smoking bylaws would be next to
impossible on an individual basis in a crowd of thousands, it seems
unbelievable to me performers were able to participate in and
encourage illegal behaviour and then continue with their show. The
solution to this would have been simple: When a performer does or
encourages illegal activity, the sound goes off, the lights come on
and they don't get paid.

It would also be advisable for promoters to ignore the requests of
performers to turn out the lights so that people can take out their
stashes of weed without fear of detection.

This is not intended to be a debate as to whether marijuana should be
legalized. The fact remains it currently is illegal and concert
promoters have a responsibility to ensure performances are carried
out in an appropriate manner.

Law enforcement also has an obligation to keep situations under
control. With this kind of tolerant approach, what gifts can we
expect from the regional police in the future? Maybe a free pass for
drunk drivers on Super Bowl Sunday? How about no photo radar on the
first day of spring? Come on, guys, you can't just give the pot heads
all the breaks.

Events such as these, especially when highlighted on the front page
of our local periodical, define the character of a community. While I
hold no bias against this particular musical genre, if events can't
be managed with more class, it would be better that they not be
carried out at all.

James Chartier

Coaldale