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Ana The Moloon Forest Confedorate by, W
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Drug; p'o
b4mi
p�abl�ernr�" .
They were the beautiful people,,
drifting from everywhere and
nowhere to urban centres where
the capitals of hippiedom were
constructed; Haight Ashbury in
Sall Francisco, Greenwich Vil-
lage
in New • York City, Yorkville
in Toronto and more.
They brought with them a dis-
taste for "the estattlishment a
thirst for freedom, love beads,
hluejeans, long hair, beards and
... drugs: pot (marijuana), hash
(hashish),. acid (LSO), horse
(heroin), speed (methedrine)1
Mese (mesculine), coke (co-,
calne), MDA; amphetamines and
barbiturates.
These were the beautiful,
people, the flower children. °But,
just like the proverbial,' aging
Hollywood _ glamor queen who
suddenly saw in her mirror a'
haggard countenance marred by
wrinkles, the flower children, too,
suddenly became ugly and' found
that their "trip could . be one
way. And many chose to get off.
Now, in the aftermath of
"flower power" and the drug
abuse that was almost its reli-
gion, remain those who did not
get off, and those who refused tq
let the whole era die.
The following account of how
one area town grappled with a
drug° roblem and made a dent in
l it, depicts how we all are beauti-
ful people; the users (or the used,
in many cases).and the people
who•care (or.don't care, in many
cases).
The forty people, who congre-
gated in. Mount Forest's town hall
one snowblown night a couple of
weeks ago proved that they did
care. They were there to take a
hard look at the town's Optimist
Club proposal to curb drug
abuse': Report A Pusher.
The Turn In A. Pusher pro-
gram, similar to HAP, initiated
in London and other cities such as
„Tampa, 'ampa, Florida, did not turn out
to , be a popular drug abuse
combatant. Indeed, it fizzled out
not too long after it was instated.
, The townspeople of Mount
Forest, then, were not too
anxious to.grab a program that
had not ' proven successful in
larger centres.
Talk of a $100 reward upon con-
viction for information leading to
the arrest of a pusher was also
not to, the liking of most. Many
thought it would splitup the town,
become a vehicle of getting even
with people who were not liked,
and alienation was not what the
citizens really wanted.
BEFORE'THE DECISIQN:
Prior to the meeting We
sounded out some comments obn
the proposal from educate ,
physicians and clergymen;
among others.
"I believe in educating the
community about drugs, hut I•
sure can't see reporting them
this manner," : expressed 0111
Moody, chairman of student
services in the town high scl,.
"I don'tlike Pushers either, but
this type of • program leads ;tor a
vigilante atmosphere; It reminds
Me of the daysof the old west."
The high school counsellor did'.i t
Stant to go•into the area of hid, ql -
servations of drug use in the
school. He obviously treasures
the privacy of the students as
much as they themselves trea-
sure it. That is regard for your
fellow man, age ;being no barrier.
Others mirrored his opinions.
Everyone in ,thet town, maybe
even the drug users, wants to SOP
drug abuse, but as Dr. G.L.
Stewart said, "t don't think a
bribe is the answer," •
In his estimation as one of the
three town doctors, drug abuse
prevention should be approached
"by going at the education aspect
entirely."
,.n
Father J. P. Lardie said'the
drug abuse situation "was worse
three or four years ago, but polite
. have done a good job of settling it
.down,"
One of
hisi
w
n conc
the program was that 1t Might
create "gossip and get people
hurt."
THERE WAS SOME talk of offering $100, to be contributed by the Optimist Club of Mount
Forest, to anyone supplying information leading to the arrest and conviction of a drug
pusher. The idea did not receivea great deal of favorable response.
If the RAP program \ was
brought into being, he said, "I'm
sure we would hear about this
place being a hotbed for drugs.
and for what?"
He likened it to "railroading
these professional people into a
capacity I don't think is called for
or that they want."
A check with Listowel town po-
lice revealed that the towp has no
such program and never has. The
same applies to Wingham, said a
source there. •
Mount Forest Police Chief
Ardell McIntyre, said he agreed
that a preventative program
should be started, but ,is not in
favor of a reward and cited crank
calls as being a "bad point of the
program."
Mr. Moody criticized RAP as
being a "primitive .angle" and
said, "We should solve the root of
the problem. I think it's definitely
a problem and there is a need, but
HALLWCINOGENS, stimulants/and narcotics are three of
the seven drug classifications which may be injected. The
hallucinogens that can be injected range from LSD to STP
and none have any medical
use. Narcotics range from
heroin, which has no medical use, to demerol which is
medically used to relieve pain.
not a panic,",
"If people would just learn as
much as they can about drug
abuse," he added; "and fight it
intelligently, we may be able to
beat it."
• Dr. Stewart +clamied, Prier to
the meeting, that "certain people
have addiction tendencies and
are too reliant on outside materi-
'als rather than on their own emo-
tional stability. There is just as
much drug abuse through a doc-
tor's prescriptions,"' he said, "as
through gt'a$s inid other drugs of
that nature'! "'•
The doe'. r *as coinvincedt
thu
"these kids a erre, inot going to
squeal on their suppliers, from
my experience ' with them' any..
. way."
How about the reward? '"Abso-
lutely not. That .is setting up a
bunch of shod les and that iso not a
reasonable thing for a service
club to be doing. Drug rehabiti=
'cation centres are an' alternative
to putting these kids in °jail and
branding them criminals."
The same should apply to
pushers, he claimed. "If they are
using it, they should be. rehabili-
tated. If not, andthey are just out
for fast money, they should de-
finitely be punished."
THE DECISION: -
Mr. Moody, Father Lardie and
Dr. Stewart did not attend the
meeting. f f they had, they might
have been pleasantly surprised at
the decision their fellow citizens
e.
ti.
.�
AAP was
• �3. �A vetoed unariiniously.
°a The people listened to 'Optimist
spokesman and chairman of the
meeting Peter Feige.. "We want
to eliminate the pusher. We want
to keep the pressure on pushers
so that they will just pass through
this town.without selling."
He explained the program
would be conducted on the basis
of -anonymous phone calls from
whoever had a good suspicion
that a certain personwas dealing
in drugs. On the basis of this tip,
the police would then conduct a
discreet investigation of the
alleged pusher to find out if there.
was enough evidence for an ar-
rest and conviction.
Mention of the reward was
made only in passing , and the
subject obviously attracted little
support from the people.
Then the people listened to
each other.
Druggist Ralph Moran said the
drug problem arose out of
"'boredom". "Give them an out-
let and their energies may be di-
rected to better things. They
i ht leave drugs
alone i
f they
g
h
Y
night
t bore
d.
Corporal Alex Bowley of the
OPP said drug education should
not be directed to -the "guy who is
inclined to use it, but to the gen-
eral public.
"We should create an atmos-
phere where drunkenness and
drug abuse are not acceptable."
He criticized the public's views
of drunks, saying that in many
instances a drunk is looked upon
as comical.
• Chief McIntyre reported that
last year there were 108 liquor of-
ferices and 42 impaired driving
charges laid in the town, com-
pared to only six drug incidents
and none of these were convic-
tidns.
Keeping this fact in mind, it
was suggested and supported by
many that a program be estab-
lished to cater to the drug educa-
tion needs, including alcohol, to
the entire public and not just at
school levels.
) One of the guests invited by Mr.
Feige, Keith Lymburner, addic-
tion rehabilitation project co-or-
dinator for Wellington County
Health Unit, warned the people
not to use "biased literature". He
termed slanted presentations and
information as "fear tactics" and
'said they were not effective.
Constable Alex Adams, of the
OPP, said, "You have to present
the facts and let the people make
up their own minds."
Corporal Bowley summed up
the point at which the people had
arrived. "Our job is to set a whole
new standard of how we treat
other people."
Doug Cressman, youth coun-
"'TORING QUALITY FORAGE" was a` feature of 'Hie afternoon' program'•during the first
- day of the Waterloo -Wellington Forage Conference,. held,in Waterloo Januar.:y;;3O and $I
, 'Discussing. the subject with speaker Ross Stevenson (center), Crop Science' Deparfinonto
',
Ontario: Agricultural College, Universityof Guelph, are Jim Zaryski`(Ieft), of Harristony'
and Harold Fisher, also of Harriston.
Problems Facin
'Writ ing intelligently about the
.a:e a>I sc e.
t
u
r
n
an increasingly difficult task..
The skills of Jim. Zaryski, how-
ever, make it easier.
A practising farmer in. the
Harriston area, Jim is also a
qualified high school teacher and
has written for several farm pub-
lications including previous ar-
ticles for Crossroads.
He attended a forage, confer-
ence for Waterloo -Wellington
farmers recently and has written
five articles for Crossroads :shar-
ing the information he ` gained
from the twb-day session. This is
the first of his articles.
0-0-0
One
mak
i
ng
such
mOna
'#0.01§-11r .gam" mmi
the efficiency Of capital invest-
' Ment,' land, and labour.
Alfalfa is a crop that presents
fewer problems than it did.previ-
ousiy. Present varieties are
hardier, and with proper man-
agement, stands can persist
longer than in the past: However
the spread of the alfalfa weevil
into more widespread areas of -
Ontario requires a watchful eye..
to time harvest before excessive
-damage occurs.
But what of the new varieties of
alfalfa? Many new ones,several
with Company brand names at-
tached, are introduced each year
How good are these, and what
Direct cut. Stacking systems. conditions are required for
Bird's -foot trefoil. oxygen limit- optimum production? What
ing silos. Haybine. Alfalfa weevil. grasses are most compatible with
Rotations. Formic acid;Dry hay. them? Although they are tested
The farmer today is faced with • for general recommendationsby
these and many more considera- the Ministry of Agriculture and
tions before he plants, harvests, , Food, the farmer must -find out
stores and feeds his forages. To for himself their value for his own
complicate the picture more, his individual fields.
forages must fit into a total live- The cost of machinery •owner=
stock feeding program. The ship is a great burden. Custoifi
farmer. must now spend more: harvesting is not always avail -
... r ... ::tit ...........................•!:1{.......:ti:•..........;:�'•...... ...: �:. .. , ........................ ^::•:•.. .•:\•:.....
Cep
sellor for the Wellington County lem we face, but a people prob-
Health Unit, -said, "Social values lem." What should be found out is
don't change overnight." why people need drugs' and alco-
Corporal Bowley replied, "But, hol which more ;often than not
we can start it right here to- create more problems.
night." it was also said at the meeting
AFTERMATH: EFFECTS that perhaps too much talk about
Maybe something was started drugs may whet the appetite .of
in the Mount Forest town hall wouldsbe users. But, talk and
that night a few weeks ago. cold, hard factual information
Perhaps a deeper understanding are two different entities.
of all people and all of their prob- THE ENEMY:
lems. - Although drugs often, take over
After all, with only one day's
notice of the meeting, 40 people
appeared. And the Optimists cer-
tainly showed concern by making
the initial move, even though
most townspeople did not accept
the RAP proposal. -
Basically they found out what
they don't want and talked about
some of the things they do want.
One is more education about
drugs and alcohol. Will they do
it? Or was the meeting merely a
RAP session? -
Creating a new social consci-
ence, awareness and under-
standing about all people and all
problems is' a big bite to chew.
About a dozen people volun-
teered their help in forming a
committee along with the Opti-
mists and town recreation direc-
tor Elmer Wick. More concerned
people are needed and what is
needed more is an objective or a
united aim to bring the people to-
gether to face the problems, not
just the ones involving drugs and
alcohol but all social problems.
As Mr. Wick stated at the
meeting, "it is not a drug prob-
when we use them, people are
their own worst enemies. Each of
us could be guilty of abusing our
bodies through drugs, whether by
cigarettes, beer or aspirins. Any
one of these can be deadly if con-
sumed in excess.
The Scientific Advisory Com./
mittee of the Council on Drug
Abuse has prepared, among
other drug teaching aids, a refer-
ence guide. It contains data
everyone should read for his own
sake.
It contains information' about
narcotics (analgesics), halluci-
nogen (psychedelic), stimulants
(pep pills), depressants (seda-
tives and hypnotics),'tranquilliz-
ers, organic solvents (deliriants),
alcohol (ethyl) and nicotine (to-
bacco).
If you didn't know that alcohol
can cause heartburn, gastritis,
nausea, vomiting, increased uri-
nary flow, malnutrition, various
mood states, various diseases,
anger, anxiety, tension, fear, bel-
ligerence, social and personal
deterioration, anti -social acts
Please turn to Page 2
•
•
equipment is usually {necessary..
A satisfactory alternatiize to indi-.
-victual ownership is a partnership
sharing agreement wheremore
than one farmer shares different •
machines.
Each farmer inust'decide what
harvest and systems :best
fit his total: operation. He must
consider his resources. of land,
building, equipment andlabour,
his crops and his overall feeding
program. There is a wide variety
of h rvest and storage systems
availble. Forage can be har-
vested as baled or loose hay,
wiltedsilage, or direct -cut silage,
And can be stored in many types
of barns,- silos and even ii
haystacks outdoors.
New chemicals present more
choices. In general these pro-
ducts control weeds and insects
in the field to produce a better
crop, or reduce the deterioration
of feed after harvest. For ex-
ample, formic acid has proven •
valuable in improving the quality
Of grass silage. But what are the
side effects such as excess wear
on machinery and feeding equip-
ment?
Overwintering forage stands is
still a great problem. One reason
is the ubiquitous snowmobile. On
light snow coverings as we have
had the last two winters,ese
machines pack the' snow which
later turns to ice, ultimately
killing alfalfa and even some
grasses. A similar effect occurs
when majiinery such as manure
spreaders and even cattle pass
over snow-covered forage fields.
These last `'two situations the
finer can easily control—the
trespassing snowmobiler pre-
sents more difficult legal, social
and practical problems.
Probably the most encompass-,
ing difficulty facing a forage
farmer today is "putting it all to-
gether" Information on a wide
'variety of topics is available but
from many diverse sources,
usually based on independent re-
search. Also, the farmer today
needs more integrated research
—crop geneticists should be
working more with livestock spe-
cialists and agricultural engin-
eers to develop systems that will
benefit ail aspects of a forage
growing and feeding program.
Moreover, he needs more on-
farm feedback. Farmers should
provide more of the input data for
research since even the most
controlled laboratory cannot du-
plicate the actual farm situation.
One expressed purpose of the
Forage Conference, sponsored by
the Waterloo -Wellington Soil and
Crop Improvement Association,
is to help the farmer bring a-
sense of order to the ptofu sir
inforniation available.