ILLEGAL CROP

I'd like to express an opinion in support of alleged police action on
Texada Island and other islands ["Island angry over raids," September
1].

It is a fact that the illegal growth and sale of marijuana is still a
criminal offence in Canada, and police functions are to uphold the
law.

I sat as a member of Court Watch for long enough to see the pitifully
inadequate sentences handed out for drug-related crimes.

Days and weeks of police work to bring persistent abusers to court are
wasted due to technicalities, the lawyers asking for just one more
adjournment in a string of adjournments and the army of different
judges we get up here.

One can say the same for the care taken in case presentations by
fisheries and wildlife officers, mostly wasted as abusers would walk
free.

I'm fed up with it and so are many other citizens.

We live in a war zone and bad things happen in wars. Innocent people
suffer. It's unfortunate if some windows on Texada were broken due to
low-flying helicopters. Even worse if cattle were spooked and someone
was hurt.

I think police should do all in their power to track down criminals
who don't give a hoot about the damage their product does to thousands
of lives, to the incredible amount of break-and-enter and other
drug-related crime in our community. If you don't believe me, just go
and spend one day sitting in provincial court.

In discussing this with a Texada resident who didn't see any harm in
the main crop grown there, I said, "But it's illegal." I was told,
"Well it brings a lot of money onto the island." What of the human
cost of that money?

In listening to the saga of so-called heavy-handed methods during a
raid I said, "The people on Texada know who is doing this, why don't
they turn them in and avoid police actions?" I was told, "But it's
their friends and brothers and children."

One can only hope that this person's own small children won't be
victims of what too many of us ignore on our own doorstep.

Shirley Gendron,

Oak Street