Pubdate: Wed, 12 May 2004 Source: Kincardine News (CN ON) Copyright: 2004 The Kincardine News Contact: http://www.kincardinenews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2186 Author: Laurie Convay COUNCIL TAKING THE WRONG ROAD Editor's Note: It should be noted the selling of marihuanna seeds is perfectly legal. Once an individual plants the seeds and begins to care for the young plants (at which point THC is formed), the person can then be charged with cultivating an illegal substance, but the sale and possession of seeds is legal. To the editor, The other day, I drove down the main street of our community and had my four-year-old bring up a question, "Mommy, why do those people have a funny Canadian Flag in their window?" to which I, dumbfounded, answered, "I don't know." After finding out that this so-called business sells drug seeds and paraphernalia etc. I have a sick feeling in my stomach. Overwhelming rage set in as I asked myself "Is this the community we want to raise our children in? Does our community take pride in this?" Children live all around this establishment, walk by it and are bussed by it five days a week. If my four-year-old noticed a defaced Canadian flag, what are older children getting exposed to? Legal, they tell me this place is, but whatever happened to family values, morals, a conscience and encouraging the good to come out in people? Putting people on the sewage path of addiction is not right, ask any medical doctor, psychologist, mother, father, grandparent, teacher, or any human being for that matter. After rage, concern set in. I actually don't want to judge these people and drive them out of town to go somewhere else with the same business. I pray that they will wake up one morning, shake their heads and ask themselves "What good are we giving back to our community? Is our community proud of us and our business? Are we helping to raise healthy children in our community? Are we leading our children and others (children/adults) down the right path?" Please, I beg you, as a mother raising children at a time when divorce is high, bullying is still alive in our schools and our children are attacked by evil from all sides. We can't protect them from everything, but please don't flaunt drugs right in front of them too. Please do what is right morally. It's hard to believe, but then again, it really isn't, that so called adults support the very thing we know is at the root of all evil. "Drugs are everywhere", I'm casually told. Does that make it right? I'm starting to get the feeling that this community and many others are "normalizing" the use of illegal drugs. I'm scared, no, terrified, for our future generation. I never want to explain to another child why it's OK for an adult to disrespect a Canadian flag and promote drug use and it's not OK for them to. We as parents and citizens of this great community cannot turn a blind eye to this subject anymore. Laurie Convay Tiverton - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin