Pubdate: Wed, 17 May 2006
Source: Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2006 Lake of Two Mountains Gazette Ltd.
Contact:  http://pages.infinit.net/gazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4094
Author: Ian Ellemo

BLAME ADULTS

We recently had a young teenager pass away from the overdose of a 
drug called ecstasy. The young female was a mere 13 years of age when 
her life ended tragically from an overdose from the party drug. With 
her were two other people. One was a friend and the other, labelled a 
'pusher' or 'drug dealer.' Dealing drugs is wrong and should not be 
accepted in a society, no question about it. But is labeling the 
young teen that sold the drugs to the teenagers as a drug dealer appropriate?

As a kid that grew up in the Hudson community, I've seen how the drug 
process works. This 'pusher' probably had no more than five or six 
pills on him at any given time, which is considered as small time. 
But, where did he get those pills? Certainly not the pharmacy.

It's adults that control the drug industry, not kids. On a small 
scale, kids are to blame. On a larger scale, it is the adult pushers 
that feed the teenagers' hunger and boredom. The adult sells the 
drugs to the teenager(s) in bulk, than the teenager(s) sell the drugs 
to other teenagers. The profit comes back into the hands of the 
original pusher (the adult) and ends up back into the production of 
these drugs. More money, more supplies, to fuel the drug craze.

What the young 'pusher' did was wrong and after his court date, 
justice was partially served, and hopefully he learned a valuable 
lesson. I am not standing up for the pusher in any way, I just 
believe that tragic accidents such as these can be avoided. By 
finding the origin of the drugs and the dealers, they can be 
eliminated, and prevented from dispersion among the streets.

Ian Ellemo
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman