SECOND OPINION

MARIJUANA GROWERS SHOULD BE PACKED OFF TO PRISON

This is in response to three articles which ran in The Record on Jan. 17,
related to drugs. In the article entitled Tougher Pot-grow Penalties Urged,
I would like to applaud the stance taken by regional councillors,
especially Joe Martens, Jane Mitchell and Jim Wideman, who were quoted in
the article.

For several months, our regional police have expressed concerns about the
prevalence of indoor marijuana grow operations within our region and have
been able to successfully expose a number of them (68), while an estimated
200 more still operate.

Following lengthy investigations by police and perhaps neighbouring
citizens, the end results have been conditional sentences or house arrest
for these offenders.

These operations are a lucrative part of the street drug trade that plagues
our society today.

Hundreds of our youth are tempted by their own curiosity and attracted to
the convenience and availability of marijuana.

Many do not realize the risks of experimentation and the potential negative
influence on their lives as they continue to use and possibly move on to
more dangerous substances.

It's no secret to the police or to your readers that there's a direct link
to the involvement of street drugs and a variety of other forms of crime,
whether it be theft of hydro as mentioned in the same article or other
stolen goods, as noted by Staff Sergeant Ray Massicotte, the head of our
regional police drug squad, in the article Police Raid Yields Drugs, Stolen
Goods.

As a concerned citizen and member of CLEAN (Community Link Empowered
Against Narcotics, whose mission statement is "Parents linked with our
community to assist in the need for support, awareness and empowerment
against narcotics"), I wish to commend the aforementioned councillors for
their stance.

Let's all send a message to our legislators and our judges that there is a
need to impose stiff penalties to discourage every component of this
escalating problem.

I am recommending a minimum substantial prison sentence for anyone involved
in the "commercial grow" of marijuana, which might provide a deterrent more
fitting to the crime.

To Hal Mattson for his argument in defence of his client Cuong Luong in the
article Jail Terms Don't Work, Pot-grower's Lawyer Says, I recognize his
role in this judicial system of ours. However, to paint a picture of some
misdemeanour for a 46-year-old man who stood to gain $170,000 for this crop
is appalling to me.

This article refers to Mattson's efforts to influence the decision of
Justice David Carr based on the precedents of previous cases within the
region.

Shame on Mattson for dismissing the reality that marijuana appears to be a
gateway to much more serious drug use for many of our young people and
therefore, its cultivation should not be considered as some misdemeanour.

To press for leniency for his self-serving client is to disregard the
negative impact to our community, as well as the huge amount of pain for
many, many families -- especially when drug use does not stop at "just
marijuana."