A WASTE OF CRIME-FIGHTING DOLLARS ON 4-20

As I open the paper on April 21, I saw a familiar headline. "Man in
crack house dies of stab wound." Then on my way to work, in the
downtown area, I see a familiar sight - a dozen or so crack dealers
plying their trade on the street corners. So I begin to wonder: "Why
was practically our entire police force set up at Muskoseepi park,
hassling the peaceful 4-20 protest the day before?"

In years past, April 20 was a time to celebrate the coming of spring,
listening to music, and partaking in a worldwide peaceful protest
against the out-dated marijuana laws.

I know a lot of people who read this think that the law is the law,
and we all must do what Big Brother tells us to. I for one, as a
taxpaying citizen, want value for my crime-fighting dollar!

Last year, there were about 500 people who were at the peaceful
protest. There were no stabbings, no fights, not even an argument.
This year, a local radio station was told by, I would assume the
police, to tell people to avoid the park, and the local newspaper did
not show up like they did in previous years.

Was this an attempt by the police to black out the media so that they
could do what they did without it being reported?

Do we live in Russia now?

What happened was there were about two dozen plain clothed and
uniformed police on the site. Many people were taken away, (arrested,
I assume) and everybody was videotaped as well as pictures being
taken. Many people were bullied and intimidated as well by the
police. This behaviour reminded me of something else, what was it? Oh
yes, this peaceful protest was treated the same way that the police
treat a gathering of an outlaw bike gang.

Keep in mind that this is a peaceful protest that happens for a few
hours on one day of the year. While not 1,000 feet away, there are
people dealing crack cocaine day after day, week after week, month after month.

I'm not saying that marijuana is a harmless vice that should be
legalized. What I am saying is that our problem in this community is
not a peaceful protest held once a year. It's what happens every day
of the year with the hard drugs destroying our friends and families,
and the thousands of dollars that we spent on our police force on
April 20 (which, by the way, accomplished nothing that I could see,
other than turn more young people against the police) could have been
spent in a much more pro-active way.

Allan Comeau

Grande Prairie