BUSTS - THE BIGGER, THE BETTER

Police in recent times have made tidy work of drug busts in the
province.

Whenever there's a news release issued to media in the province about
another arrest and seizure, that's supplies that will not make it to
the streets or the schoolyards of communities in the province, whether
or not there's ever a conviction in court.

Some will tell you, however, that it's practically impossible to rid
any community of illegal drugs and we're sure that's true.

But, we keep looking for cures for cancer, HIV, diabetes and other
killing agents even though at times, it all seems close to impossible
to counteract. It's good to see police keep working to counteract the
sale of illegal drugs in our communities -- even if cleaning it up
totally is a too-far-to-reach goal.

When a young person can say it's no problem getting cocaine and crack
cocaine in a schoolyard, then something needs to be done for sure to
curb it.

Marijuana has been used and sold for years and though it still is
illegal, cocaine and crack cocaine puts a whole new spin on the use
and sale of illegal drugs in our society.

There is a certain percentage of people who will always experiment
with whatever drug becomes available, and by the same token there is
always a greater percentage who auspiciously opt to say no.

In any large town, drug use and trafficking tends to be prevalent and
Gander is right up there for markets for a pusher to hit.

It's not the acne-faced kids with $300 worth of weed in his pants
pocket selling in the school yard, it's the scumbag suppliers who put
up the big bucks to yield huge profits from the 10 or 12 pawns who
carry out the illicit trade for them.

All you need to reap the benefits of drug sales is a dormant
conscience that doesn't allow the guilt of screwing up a young
person's life to interfere with the big financial gains.

The principal of a school in Blaketown, Trinity Bay, recently made a
few headlines when he called the RCMP to his school to report a drug
incident.

The 18-year-old student was charged with trafficking over a single
marijuana joint.

Some called the charge heavy handed and perhaps it was a bit heavy --
as indications are many students pass joints to each other regularly
and most likely that is the case. But maybe there's a message in it
all about the repercussions of illegal drugs in a schoolyard.

But, most people would prefer to see the heavyweights going down --
the ones dealing with pounds and not the ones nickel and diming. It's
the big-ticket hawkers who make sure shipments of crack cocaine
trickle down to the schoolyards and wherever else supply-and-demand
can be capitalized on.

We may never shut down all the businesses of the drug dealers, but
cracking down on it sends a solid message: don't sleep too soundly,
for you never know who's going to knock on your door because someone
decided to rat you out.

Even the biggest can fall and those types have a bigger height to fall
from. Here's to bigger drug busts in the future.