POT LAWYER'S LEGACY IN QUESTION

The Editor:

Re: 'Reefer madness,' Times, Jan. 30. Christina Toth's front page article
describes a lawyer who is going to make it his life's achievement to
legalize pot. That is quite a legacy for John Conroy to leave his
grandchildren.

As a lawyer, Conroy "picked up criminal pot cases in the 1970s" and
"founded the Canadian arm of Normal, a marijuana lobby group.

"It was the '60s and '70s, after all." What does he mean by "after
all," as if it's an excuse for potheads. I may add that the '70s were
not only about smoking it. It included Woodstock, pot, drugs, sex
orgies and Kurt Cobain. So, to add "after all" to his statement is a
disclaimer to Conroy's talent. Now, I have to admit that our past is
only an example of "how we were," but we can change.

My youth is a good example of this. At age 16, I was adventurous,
daring and living a yahoo lifestyle of fun [including watching the
speedometer hit the red zone]. One day, a police officer followed me
down King Road, right into our yard. I received a ticket for going 50
in a 30 zone.

The next day at school, my immature personality revealed itself as the
gang looked at my ticket and gave me advice: "Get a lawyer!"

Somebody said that there was a "criminal lawyer" in our town but
nobody could prove it. A phone call to the biggest ad in the Yellow
Pages got me in touch with Angelo Branka, criminal lawyer in Vancouver
[who later became Justice Angelo Branka]. When I explained my ticket,
he answered, "I've been waiting for this and I'll take the case for
free."

An Abbotsford courtroom had never seen the equivalent - a criminal
lawyer and an immature teen. He explained to the judge [in detail]
that 30 miles per hour in B.C. towns was not valid, unless signs at
the town entrance declared it. The judge agreed and struck down the
law and the charge.

But, I was a loser. I had broken the law, I had flaunted the justice
system and the criminal lawyer had created a potential career
criminal. I was 16 and too old for the "woodshed punishment system,"
so thankfully, Const. Filzimmond took it upon himself to steer me
straight. Four years later and after many, many tickets, I was cured
and have since driven two million accident-fault-free miles.

There are always people who fail temporarily and get up again, hoping
that they haven't dragged someone else down in the meantime. But, when
people actually intend to take the low road and intend to drag someone
else downhill with their plan, that is a sad career legacy.

Don Warkentin

Mission