Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jan 2006 Source: Maple Ridge Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc Contact: http://www.mrtimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1372 Author: Rod Smelser MISINFORMATION ON DRUG CRIME Editor: Re: Soft on crime, TIMES Mailbag, Jan. 13, 2006 I don't know why your paper would bother to publish it, since it is so clearly a silly and intentional distortion and nothing more. Crime and drugs are serious issues. Making them into silly political footballs like Aaron Vaughan does just adds one more small piece to the great load of cynicism about our democratic system of government. When people see that it's just a fool's game of misquotation and deception, rather like the latest wave of Liberal party TV attack ads, they begin to think the whole thing is a joke and voter turnout heads downwards. I, for one, am concerned about some Conservative proposals, to close down the safe injection site in Vancouver and to prohibit others from opening in Victoria and Toronto, and to keep possession of small amounts of marijuana a criminal offence. By following the example of the Bush administration's approach to drug policy, where it's actually been seriously proposed that every university and college student face mandatory random drug urine testing as a deterrent, I believe a Harper government will set back the cause of rational drug policy by many years. These proposals, actually made by Mr. Harper and his party, are things that need to be discussed between now and next Monday. Rod Smelser Maple Ridge - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin