DON'T TELL B.C. WHAT TO DO

Dear Editor:

Re: Ideological blinkers are clear, Letters to the editor, Burnaby
NOW, Feb. 27.

Marijuana advocate T. J. Meehan, from Kingston, Ont., has accused me
of being blinded by ideology and of plagiarizing an e-mail message
which, he says, has been sent to Conservative Party supporters. While
I have never seen that message, it would be interesting to know how
Mr. Meehan managed to get on that list. Perhaps he could advise us
how to subscribe.

When writing a letter for publication, I do the necessary research to
educate myself on the subject matter. Whether Mr. Meehan likes it or
not, the underlying principles of Canada's official national
anti-drug strategy are precisely as I have described them.

If Mr. Meehan is not blinded by ideology, he should be able to
explain in his own words, and without invoking mysterious
"peer-reviewed science," his claim that the Insite supervised
injection site "works to decrease crime." Given that Insite clients
inject street obtained illicit drugs, how do they get the money to
pay the drug dealers without having to resort to crime?

If Mr. Meehan likes Insite so much, he should promote a similar
facility for his own neighbourhood in Ontario, instead of telling us
what is best for B.C. We, who live here, see what is going on our
streets, and we are the ones who suffer the consequences every day.

Eva Derton,

Burnaby