PEDDLING DRUGS TO CHILDREN MUST STOP

Editor:

Today I drove my son to school. Traffic in both directions came to a
standstill half a block from school so a boy could dance from a church
parking lot across a busy street to fall on the grass giggling totally
out of his mind. A group of about six children was in the church yard
egging him on. I said I should get help. My 11-year-old son said,
"He's OK, he's only stoned. That's where they smoke weed everyday."

That this was going on so close to the school, so early in the
morning, with children so young totally blew me away, let alone that
my 11-year-old seemed so knowledgeable.

"Weed" is still illegal in Canada so why are the police turning a
blind eye to the pushers hitting on our 11- and 12-year-olds as they
go to and from school? Where are the teachers? Where are their
parents? Is there no supervision so close to school?

I spoke to my high school-aged son and his friends about what I had
witnessed. They said that's nothing compared to what happens outside
their high schools. Apparently crystal meth is the drug of choice in
high schools.

My kids tell me it's "rich" kids doing the drugs because they are the
only ones who can afford it. Today, for the first time, I thanked God
I am a single mother trying to make ends meet and my kids can't afford
these drugs. Then I realized if the "poor" kids wanted to, they could
break into cars at night and steal whatever they can to pawn off to
make a buck to feed their habit. Reading The Herald's crime report
every week, this type of crime is common.

I don't know what I can do as a parent to stop the pushers from
selling to kids or to keep my kids from buying, but I do know I can
try to lobby the government to enforce its laws and not turn a blind
eye. It's one thing to be over 18 and choose to do drugs. But to sell
to 11-year-olds is totally disgusting and every effort should be made
to stop this.

Judy Westcott

Lethbridge