DRUG AWARENESS WEEK ADDS UP TO "PROPAGANDA"

Regarding Drug Awareness Week. What concerns me is that this means that the
RCMP and Nelson City Police are out in full force, in our schools and
shopping malls, spreading their propaganda. Now if the police were actually
providing balanced, factual information it might not be so bad. But the
fact is these are police officers who have a law enforcement agenda and
they carry an extreme bias. They are not qualified as doctors,
psychologists, sociologists, scientists or even as teachers.

At the most, police may be qualified to talk about criminology. Much of the
science around drug use is complex and open to debate.

Unfortunately the debate is being limited to the police's view. I spoke to
the officers in charge of the Drug Awareness display at the Chako Mika
Mall, and I received so much erroneous, distorted, and controversial
information that there is not enough room to print it here. I was assured
by the officers that they have no personal interest in drug laws, pro or
con, and that they are only doing their job enforcing existing laws. Then
why are they handing out literature and showing videos that make all sorts
of specious arguments about drugs, in particular cannabis (marijuana), that
tend to justify their harsh attitudes against them? Especially when the
latest court rulings and government commission show that drug LAWS hurt
society (R. v. Caine, R. v. Clay, R. v. Parker, LeDain Commission, etc.)
more than the drugs themselves. It's the same lesson we should have learned
from alcohol prohibition in the 30's and should be teaching in school.

Police should be paid for important policing like finding missing kids and
helping victims and not to "educate" or "cure" or push their political agenda.

Paul DeFelice
Holy Smoke Culture Shop
Co-owner

Checked-by: Richard Lake