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