THINK FIRST, RAGE LATER

Stephen Bornais Presents The Smart, Angry, And Insightful Opinions Of Daily
News Readers.

We all rush to judge, hardly ever waiting for all the facts before making
up our minds.

And so it was with the tragic events last week in Alberta, where cryptic
police messages about a marijuana grow-up created a national rage against
dope and its many users.

The 40-year-old accountant smoking a joint in his basement den after the
kids have gone to bed was pronounced complicit in the murders, as his money
paid for the killer's gun and his bullets.

But a couple of days later, more facts emerge. It seems dope wasn't what
brought the cops out to the killer's place at all. Instead, it was stolen
auto parts.

So the next time this happens, wait a day. Then you can rage.

We asked callers whether it was drugs or drug laws that led to the four deaths.

"It seems since 9/11, people over-react about anything and everything. The
RCMP murders had little to do with drugs or grow operations. They had to do
with a known and heavily armed psychopath who was known to want to use them
against law enforcement." -- Iain Jones, Halifax via e-mail

"I have been smoking marijuana since I was 15 years old, am now 35, and I
have yet to become insane or violent from using this mild sedative. On the
other hand, I have sat with people who drink alcohol only to be disgusted
after they've had a few and start using vulgar language and watched them
not even be able to walk when they stood.

"Also, I've been beaten by someone that was loaded drunk, to the point that
I thought I would die. For the record, this person is my husband and he
quit drinking and took up smoking marijuana instead, probably saving my
life." -- Michelle Harry, Sackville via e-mail

* "I think it is a combination of the huge pot-growing operations across
Canada and the inability of weak laws and enforcement by police to
eliminate this scourge from Canadian cities." -- Edward Watt, Halifax

"Something should have been done about this fool years ago." -- Donald
Waye, Dartmouth

"It's far more relevant that this man has access to weapons and was
dangerous to boot." -- Laura Legere, Dartmouth