Pubdate: Thu, 13 Sep 2001
Source: Westender (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 WestEnder
Contact:  http://www.westender.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1243
Author: Mary Frances Hill

NO WAY TO THE DEA

There are some newcomers to town, and a local political group is mighty 
ticked off about it.  The BC Marijuana Party is smoking, in the figurative 
sense, over the arrival of a local office for U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Administration.

Why are they here?

Media reports state the DEA says it's all part of an effort to fight 
drug-smuggling and organized crime.

But conjecture has it that the pressure from the U.S. to bring in drug 
control has Canada worried about trade restrictions if they refuse them.

The Marijuana Party claims the DEA presence insults Canadian sovereignty, 
because one half of Canadians now support complete legalization of 
marijuana (highly doubtful).

But they do have a point.

It's all too easy to forget the U.S. in indeed a foreign country to 
Canadians.

More serious is the big obstacle the DEA presence will pose to the hard 
work on the part of civic, provincial and federal politicians to craft a 
"four-pillar approach" to help reform in the Downtown Eastside.

The long struggle to reduce the harm of drug addiction on community health 
and safety can only be undermined by the presence of any foreign government 
much less one whose policies lie at opposite ends of the spectrum of 
understanding drug addiction. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake