Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 Source: Scope, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2007 Simcoe-York Printing & Publishing Limited Contact: http://www.innisfilscope.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4360 Author: Anonymous Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) DRUG DEALER WALKED AWAY FROM MESS Dear editor, I read with interest about the motion regarding grow ops, meth labs, etc. Although this may be an idea in principle, I believe it would be totally in vain. These people have no regard for life let alone property. I seriously doubt the township could ever "collect" on refurbishing or demolishing these properties or, at the very least, the owners/tenants would be long gone. Last year my neighbour was dealing drugs, so busy at one point that traffic at their house was steady 24 hr. a day for approx. 2 months. Our local police station referred me to our main narcotics detective covering all of Simcoe County & Muskoka. Despite understanding this large territory & workload, our neighbourhood wanted this stopped which did take a number of months after their money & sources began drying out. In the meantime, these neighbours somehow avoided having their house repossessed by the bank at the ninth hour and continued living there long after heat & hydro had been disconnected right into Nov-Dec. Another repossession notice, they stripped the house of cabinets & anything that could be removed, sold it for a song and WALKED, scot free. The house is a shambles, basement flooded with 5 ft of water, likely unfit for refurbishing. And who's left with this mess? The bank, not the owner. Not only have they not been arrested for illegal drug trafficking, they have no further responsibility to the property they trashed. I personally believe our tax dollars would be better spent on our police forces, not this motion or the administration of it should it pass. Bringing these people to justice is what we should focus on by expanding our drug investigations. These people walk away free albeit with a tainted credit rating, as if they care. They're laughing at us & our overworked & under-staffed police force, knowing they can get away with it and likely will again. Meanwhile all of us end up paying for it sooner or later as banks recoup their losses. A Concerned Resident Editor's Note: Although it is policy that letters be signed, due to the nature of the letter, the name has been removed for protection. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman