PARENTS THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUGS

A Bible Hill man was sentenced to 34 months in federal prison this week,
guilty of possessing more than 90 grams of crack cocaine, 27 grams of
cocaine and more than 600 grams of marijuana.

John Morland Seeton has a lengthy criminal drug record dating back over two
decades and when arrested Jan. 11, police also seized a number of weapons
that were in his possession.

The scene of Farnham Road was described by federal prosecutor Cameron
MacKinnon as a "commercial venture."

The Seeton case reflects concern by local police agencies over the
potential for increased violence that can be directly related to the sale
and consumption of hard and soft drugs - hard drugs in particular.

The Seeton case is only one on the books. In short, big-time crime and the
potential for violence associated with it has arrived in central Nova
Scotia. A great deal of the responsibility of investigating of this
burgeoning drug trade rests with the RCMP's Northeast Nova Drug Section,
whose future presence in the region is under the microscope.

Pam Mood is a mother of three children, who spent 17 years working as a
civilian employee in the RCMP drug section in Yarmouth. She is also a
motivational speaker on tour this week in central Nova Scotia and her
indepth message is simple to understand.

"The drug community is so big, deeper and broader, you can't even grasp
it," she said in an interview prior making a presentation to parents at
Alice Street school.

The drug culture lurks just beneath the radar of unsuspecting parents and
for those young people doing drugs, "I think the kids are pulling the wool
over our eyes."

The thrust of Mood's message is that parents are, or ought to be, the first
line of defence in the battle against illegal drug use. Parents need to
know how to identify drugs, understand how easy it is to obtain anything
from marijuana up to crack cocaine and how to deal with adolescent drug use.

In short, Mood is advising parents not to depend on schools or law
enforcement agencies to keep their children from being exposed to drugs -
that's not going to work.

Home is the first line of defence.