THE REAL WAY TO REPORT BUSTS

Instead of pasting in police department news releases as news, a job that a
reasonably intelligent chimpanzee could surely be trained to do, why not
inform your readers rather than just making them angry at drug users and
their suppliers?

If drugs are banned because they're harmful, why do we not ban alcohol or
tobacco? That's easy.

Despite what the politicians tell us, drug prohibition has nothing to do
with helping anyone. Drug prohibition is nothing but a cynical,
manipulative campaign to entertain and distract the majority by persecuting
an innocent minority. It certainly started out that way almost a century
ago when its purpose was to "control" the blacks, Chinese and Mexicans by
banning the drugs used by those minorities.

You may find it helpful to think about how you feel the media of Nazi
Germany should have reported the incarceration and slaughter of Jews,
assuming, of course, they had the freedom to do so -- and then consider
changing the way you report drug busts which likewise involve the
incarceration of innocent people.

Here are my suggestions: include the comments of those, like me, who oppose
these laws; include the comments of the victims, i.e. those arrested and
their families and friends as well as (with their permission of course)
information on where they went to school, who their parents are, who their
partners are, etc. include a summary of your editorial position, if any, on
these laws.

If you and your media colleagues continue to suppress the voices of the
victims of these ridiculous laws, I fear drug prohibition will be with us
for a thousand years.

Alan Randell,

Victoria, B.C.