WASTE OF RESOURCES

Re: "Nipping ill-gotten gains in the bud; Raid ensures marijuana growers
won't
reap what they sow" (Sept. 15). First, I think it was a colossal waste of
resources: 22 police officers on the ground, a helicopter presumably with a
pilot and observer, ATVs and co-ordinators. There are so many better uses of
these resources than looking for grow-ops; particularly the tiny ones (six
plants in one sweep).

Second, I believe that the raids on small operations foster crime. The
marijuana grown in these are a labour of good gardening and intended
for personal use.

If deprived of "home grown" weed, the user will have to buy from the
street. The marijuana available on the street is generally grown in
large commercial hydroponic operations, which is supporting organized
crime.

Third, if one is going to smoke marijuana, the "home grown" version
from the outdoors has only a fraction of the potency of that which is
grown hydroponically under ideal conditions.

And no, I do not smoke marijuana.

Ralph Rickard, Dartmouth