Pubdate: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 Source: Valley Voice, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 The Valley Voice Contact: http://www.valleyvoice.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1388 Author: William Brown RESPONSE TO RCMP'S 'OPERATION E-PLACATE' In the December 2, 2009 edition of the Valley Voice I read about RCMP Corporal Todd Bowden of the Slocan Lake satellite detachment giving his summer breakdown of all that's evil from New Denver on down to Slocan Park, in which he gives time to let me know the good that the marijuana eradication project otherwise known as 'E-Placate' is doing for the community. Not only is it cutting down on organized crime (in which legalizing marijuana, by the way, would completely 'E-Radicate'), but he also lets me know how environmentally destructive growing weed is "as fertilizers, plastics, piping, gas for generator, etc are abandoned or trashed." Now I'm just wondering, a question perhaps.if the cops cared so much for the environment why, as Tom Prior wrote about in the same edition's letters column, would they not stop the industrial logging on old growth forests on the Argenta Face, which releases carbon by the megatons into the atmosphere, which in turn creates health risks not only in the air that we breathe but leads ultimately to the destruction of the human race? Now which is worse for the environment in this example. industrial logging or grow ops? And further, Corporal Todd defines organized crime as being "three or more persons active in common criminal activities." Living in the Slocan Valley then, I know quite a few organized crime members.and you know who they are? Generally people with families. They're not Hells Angels or Al Capones or members of the Bloods or Crips.they're people with kids, pets, mortgages, jobs, dreams.people that I'm actually pretty proud to be around. So let's just cut the crap about marijuana being bad and the people that grow it as being evil. It's the same old song and dance routine we've been hearing for 70 years now. Capital P.propaganda plain and simple. Corporal Bowden also gives his two cents on how an after hours centre is "strongly urged" to keep troubled youth out of trouble. Sounds good. But here's my couple of cents.why don't we take the money used in operation 'E-Placate' and instead use it to build and run some of these centres for youth. That sounds like a more practical use of our tax paying dollars to me. In the end, who ultimately benefits from the war on drugs? P.S. How is it that 117 people vote to not have cell phone service in New Denver and 110 people vote to have it; yet, that's completely ignored and cell service is going to be installed. Is that what democracy looks like? If it is then I would be very interested in using this new form of democracy to get rid of Gordon Campbell and Stephen Harper! William Brown Winlaw - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake