POT-HEADS HARDLY INNOCENT, OPPRESSED

The Editor,

Re "Fighting pot growers a waste of resources" (Letters, The Tri-City News,
Aug 16).

The recent letter by Alan Randell is further proof of the severe damage
that can be caused by using certain drugs. The entire letter is a testament
to the loss of brain tissue that can result from excessive drug use.

In his letter, Mr. Randell compared at length the enforcement of our drug
laws to Hitler's holocaust. Such a comparison is a horrible, degrading
insult to Jews everywhere. To write such a thing just to make a point is
plain stupid and I, for one, demand a public apology.

Throughout the letter, Mr. Randell maintains that those using, selling and
producing illegal drugs are innocent of any crime, and are oppressed by
politicians and police.

According to the laws of the land, these people are guilty, as proven in
court. According to any other measure of innocence, they are no better.

Pot growers destroy houses they do not own. Manufacturers of PCP and
ecstasy put those around them at serious risk of explosion or poisoning.
Drug dealers destroy the lives of every person to whom they sell. Drug
users commit violent robberies and other theft, spread infectious disease
by both needle and prostitution, and cause irreparable damage to their own
bodies (no, drugs aren't harmless).

These are hardly the behaviours of "innocent, oppressed" people.

The greatest share of the blame, however, falls on those who would have us
believe that these drugs are "harmless recreation". It's on lies like those
that new users base their decision to use. It's lies like yours, Mr.
Randell, that ruin their lives.

Ben Boyer

Coquitlam