STOP TELLING ONLY HALF OF THE STORY

Drug Busts Just Move The Traffic Elsewhere

Why do we continue to play this stupid game?

Recently, the media were touting the great police success in busting
30-some drug traffickers in the east side of Vancouver. Now I awaken
to find the drug deals taking place on every corner around my home at
Richards and Helmcken.

The real story is that the police officers merely chased the business
into a different part of town, just like they have so many times with
the drug trade and with street prostitution. I wish the media would
stop reporting half the story and promoting the arrests as "another
great success" for our stupid, ineffective laws. I rely on the media
for fresh perspectives and insights.

The poor police are helpless to make even a dent in these activities.
Let us not pretend that any significant progress is being made in the
war on drugs. It's not a police problem and their futile attempts to
control it are becoming the stuff of barroom jokes.

Michael McCarthy

Vancouver