Pubdate: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 Source: Cranbrook Daily Townsman (CN BC) Copyright: 2000 The Cranbrook Daily Townsman Contact: 822 Cranbrook St., North Cranbrook, B.C., Canada V1C-3R9 Fax: (250) 426-5003 Website: http://www.dailytownsman.com/ Author: Dean Bassett Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n901/a02.html BETTER PACK SOME BOOKS, MR. RICHARDSON Another episode in the United States fanatical war on drugs will unfold in the next day or two. At the centre of the drama is 50-year-old lab technician Allan Richardson. In 1971, Richardson (known then as Christopher Perlstein) fled a minimum security work prison in Rochester, New York after serving three months of a four-year prison term for selling $20 worth of LSD from his university dormitory. Richardson and made his way to Canada and set up a home in Vancouver in 1975, where he has lived a law abiding life ever since. As this is written Wednesday morning, Richardson is expected to make a last-ditch plea for leniency by offering letters of support from 100 friends in Vancouver. "All I'm hoping is that the judge and the rest of the (justice) system take a broader view of our lives together," Richardson told the Globe and Mail on Tuesday, with his wife Amalia at his side. He said he will ask the court to consider the best interests of society and added that he's anxious to return to work and to care for his wife, who has been fighting breast cancer for the last seven years. But I suspect Richardson's plea will fall on deaf ears, and he will be forced to serve the remainder of the LSD charge plus a little extra for skipping the country. I say this because some American politicians and bureaucrats increasingly see Canada as an open gateway for drugs and drug smugglers. In the last six months, American authorities and several U.S. senators wanted to group Canada with Mexico and Colombia. Both Mexico, Colombia, and a few other nations, are labeled as major drug exporting countries, which threaten the security of the United States. It seems B.C. Bud is the major reason for the Americans' hard line. Some last ditch efforts by Canadian diplomats and the government persuaded U.S. officials to stop this course of action. However, Mr. Richardson's plight gives the U.S. justice system and the Drug Enforcement Agency a perfect opportunity to make a statement that America will not tolerate drug use or drug traffickers. It also gives anti-drug forces a prime opportunity to shake a finger at Canada - the drug lenient country that we are - in order to show us how to properly treat druggies and traffickers. I say this because Monroe County Judge John J. Connell has already refused two pleas by Richardson's lawyers to either dismiss the charges outright or reduce the sentence. In fact, Connell ordered Richardson to surrender and finish the original sentence. Connell said Richardson needs to take responsibility for his actions and shouldn't be rewarded for escaping. I can appreciate where Connell is coming from. The U.S. doesn't want people flouting its justice system by jumping security and running across the U.S.-Canada border. For that matter, I'm sure Canada's law enforcement officials don't want American criminals viewing this country as a soft-touch. I also suspect Connell is feeling the breath of the DEA on his neck. That said, Richardson is a different kettle of fish. First off, he sold $20 worth of LSD and received a lengthy jail sentence. Today such an offence - in Canada at least - would net a person a minor fine, particularly if they had no previous criminal history. To date, there has been no indication that Richardson was a repeat offender. Clearly, Richardson is not a career criminal or he would have continued his ways north of the border. Richardson must have seen the error of his ways, because he has peacefully lived in Canada for almost 30 years. I thought reforming the criminal is a guiding principle of any justice system. Furthermore, Richardson wasn't the only American to commit a crime and illegally enter Canada. Thousands American draft dodgers, anxious not to serve in for the Vietnam war but not wanting to spend time in jail, fled to Canada. Many of these men, criminals in the eyes of the American government, have contributed significantly to Canada. President Jimmy Carter pardoned these folks because it was in the best interest of society. Letting Richardson off the hook would be in the best interest of Canadian society. However, I believe the American rabid anti-drug stance will not let Richardson off the hook because its not in the best interest of the U.S. Mr. Richardson better pack a few novels because he's going to have a lot of time on his hands. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk