Re "Student rights lost in the balance" (Editorial,Feb. 27) - I deplore the use of illegal drugs by anyone, young or old. I support all reasonable measures intended to address the problem. That support does not include adopting what would appear to be the misguided understanding by principal Dinise Severin and school board superintendent Rusty Hick of the place of the provincial Education Act and the Safe Schools Act. Provincial legislation always remains subordinate to the Charter unless the Charter's notwithstanding clause was invoked in its creation. That is not the case here. [continues 234 words]
Letter writer Ray Haskell ("Legalizing pot cuts jail time," March 14) argues that the problem of overcrowded jails causing the premature release of violent convicts could be eliminated through the decriminalization of marijuana. While I agree that marijuana should be legal -- marijuana prohibition causes much greater harm to society than marijuana -- he's looking at a problem that's not a problem in the eyes of those who decide. First, check the amount of money the prison guards unions spend annually on lobbying efforts. Then consider that what they lobby for is more laws that throw more people in prison and for longer sentences. Bulging prisons are bulging budgets. And marijuana smokers certainly are easier to baby-sit than rapists and robbers. [continues 52 words]
