DRUG BUST PROOF OF A FAILED WAR

Dear Editor,

The recent "bust"in Nelson is just part and parcel of another failed
war (this one on drugs) our Prime Minister has ordained Canadians to
drag on.

Police minions get their marching orders from the top boss, not the
community. Canadian common sense was trumped by Harper's twisted
American-style letter of the law, with its born-again mean spirited
mentality. Canadians are drawn daily into the current morass of lies,
bigotry, distrust, racism, intolerance and heinous brutality, in the
neo-conservative, fortress we call North America.

Canada has real problems, God knows, but military occupation, police
state tactics and revocation of basic rights and freedoms are
overwhelmingly not the solutions Canadians want. Remember the
outraged national shock, social turmoil and resulting hostilities in
Quebec or any number of ill-advised, ongoing jackbooted disputes with
indigenous peoples or recreational drug users. These reckless
encounters do not reflect the professional attitude, sociological
approach or compassionate tools of successful mediation in disputes,
whether between warring nations, union negotiators, bullying children
or diverse communities. We are being stripped of our Canadian way of
life.

So a small, local business, Holy Smoke, is regrettably "busted" by an
armed, over zealous, moral guardian after years of relatively
inconspicuous service to Nelson. To borrow an old election slogan
from those obviously incapable to fulfill it, now is a great time to
"Stand Up for Canada."

Joel Harris

Passmore