To the Editor:

Re: Marijuana candidate puts high school in tough position, (NDN Friday
Nov.17, 2000)

It is interesting to read, from a distance, the concerns of the
locals, of whom I was once one. As a graduate of L.V. Rogers Senior
Secondary School, I was exposed to as much of the drug culture as
could be offered to "vulnerable" pre-voting age students. I did not
feel the need to participate in drug use, and even though many of my
contemporaries chose to do so, I felt that it was simply a form of
"escapism" from the daily challenges of life.

I am of the belief that the political forum should proceed with all
parties present, including the Marijuana Party, as the students have
likely already made up their minds whether or not they would be
"users" or "non-users" of cannabis. The messages will therefore not
likely be "mixed messages," but will hopefully be informative in
nature. Let democracy have its proper place in our society.

Sidney Bowles, LVR Class of 1969 Pilot Butte, Saskatchewan