HERB SCHOOL TARGETED FOR THEIR CRIMES, NOT THEIR ACTIVISM

I'm writing in response to Liam Britten's feature, "Herb School's in
Session" [Issue #27 Vol. 35, May 11th, 2009]. In the article, Britten
champions the Herb School for its "education and harm reduction." He
paints a rosy picture of a brave and noble Herb School, unjustly
raided by the evil Vancouver Police.

Britten offers the following speculations for why the Herb School was
targeted and shut down: "They had an agenda, they held rallies, they
wore vests that said 'More Dead Cops.'" Well, if I were a police
officer, I would be pretty pissed off if I saw some punk kid wearing
a vest that said "More Dead Cops," especially if the same kid, whom I
had greeted with "a nod and a smile" was selling pot out of a venue
that existed under the pretence of creating drug awareness.

Yes, as anyone with a familiarity of the downtown pot community could
tell you, the Herb School sold pot. If you took the tour, promised
you would take it, or at the very least nodded meekly when they
asked, "You've taken the tour right?" the employees of the Herb
School would sell you (at inflated prices) your choice of a fine
selection of marijuana. Once you were in the know, all you would have
to do was tap on the glass with metal. Then they would check you out
from their security camera, let you in, and sell you your dope. I
know this because I've done it.

It wasn't because of their social activism that members of the Herb
School got shut down, it was because they were trafficking drugs and
making a substantial profit. That's why they got singled out whereas
Puff's and other pot-related institutions were not shut down. It
wasn't because of their protesting; they were selling pot and they
got caught. End of fucking story.

- -Anonymous