PENALTIES NOT THE ANSWER

Editor, The Bulletin;

In regard to the demonstration planned to encourage higher penalties
for those who commit drug related offences and letting drug
traffickers know they are unwelcome in the community.....It is great
to raise public awareness and to have the stiffer penalties but it
takes two to create that problem.One who sells it and one who buys it
, and somehow there has to be some way of getting it across to people
to value themselves enough not to fall into that trap. People who are
offering them drugs are not doing it for their good. There are other
things they can do that are not dangerous and that last a long time,
unlike the expensive,temporary fix drugs offer. Drug traffickers know
what they are and what they are doing.They don't care what others
think. That is the way they make their money and a demonstation is not
going to bother them at all.

Penalties are good but we have to try to change the tide and let
people that are buying the drugs know, especially children, that the
stuff is poison and a trap and they need to put good things into
themselves instead of seeking the answers in drugs. It's a turbulent
world out there, strong families make for stronger people.

The family unit is under such attack and the comfort a person could
find in their faith is not seen as important. There are so many easy
fixes available , we have to learn to value ourselves and to choose
better things to deal with our problems.

Drug traffickers can't exist without customers. It's like the garbage
on TV, if people didn't watch it then the people who put the
programming out there would be forced to change in order to keep
people watching. They will give you whatever you want in order to make
money off you.

Florence Black

Brooks, AB