DON'T TRUST HORSEMEN WHEN IT COMES TO DRUGS

Re: RCMP offer drug info session, (Alberni Valley Time, Jan. 6).

Police routinely lie and exaggerate the so called "dangers" of drug
use, so anyone looking to the Horsemen for "truth" about drugs or drug
use is sadly misguided. How many times do you have to be lied to
before you smarten up? Hundreds of times, apparently. The Horsemen are
the last people anyone should be asking for honest and factual drug
information.

There is also a misconception in our society that suggests that only
drug-abstinence is to be encouraged and admired. Telling kids to
"never" use certain drugs is like telling them to never see a certain
genre of movie, never go to an amusement park or exotic country, or
never do anything at all that may be both risky and fun. It teaches
them to be afraid of new things, instead of curious, and as history
has shown, fortune favours the adventurous.

Sensible, moderate, well-informed drug use is no more harmful,
dangerous, or immoral than any one of dozens of other activities
humans participate in every day. And if you think "drugs" have nothing
good to offer society, then throw away every CD you own.

For those keen on teaching kids about drugs without all the hyperbole,
spin, sloganeering, and bald-faced lies of the standard "education"
programs, I recommend the Canadian Students For Sensible Drug Policy
website at ( http://www.cssdp.org ), the Educators For Sensible Drug
Policy website at ( http://www.efsdp.org ), or the Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition website at ( http://www.leap.cc ).

Russell Barth

Federally licensed medical marijuana use, drug reform analyst and
consultant, Educators for Sensible Drug Policy