Over The Edge Page 8

Chemical hypocrisy

By Neal Ozano

EDMONTON (CUP) -
There has been a lot of
talk in the student
media, and especially in
BC, about the legaliza-
tion of marijuana. But
why is it illegal? People
should be able to do
whatever they want to
make themselves high,
low or dead. What I’m
concerning myself with
here is the hypocrisy
that exists within gov-
ernment policy involving
which drugs they’re
allowed to use to these
ends.

Marijuana alters the
way you think. So does

| am writing in reply to
May Lam’s letter in the
October 19 issue
regarding photocopiers
in the library. These
copiers get heavy use
by students, and their
upkeep and mainte-
nance is a continuing
problem. Last year
there were only 3
machines, and a 4th
was added by the uni-
versity at my request. |
wish to assure Ms. Lam
that we are aware of
the problem, and that |
speak with the photo-
copier technician daily,
and know that he is

alcohol.

Marijuana damages
your lungs. So does
tobacco.

Marijuana is illegal ...
And this is where | feel
the hypocrisy is at its
worst.

The fact that we allow
people to use alcohol,
and occasionally drive
drunk and kill people,
should be justification
enough for banning it.
The horrible effects of
tobacco on the human
body can be seen in
every cardio-pulmonary
wing of every hospital in
every city in Canada,

doing his best to keep
the photocopiers run-
ning. | have spoken
about this to the
Purchasing
Department, and we
are looking at the pos-
sibility of adding more,
and more robust
machines, as a long-
term solution.

This doesn’t com-
pletely answer the
problem for the
moment, but | hope it
helps, and | would ask
for students’ patience
on this issue. However,
should you have any
questions or concerns

yet anyone who lives to
18 years of age has the
right to kill themselves
with it.

So while marijuana
has as many adverse
effects as these other
drugs - although they
are less obvious and
less publicized - it con-
tinues to be almost
completely illegal. So
rather than advocating
the legalization of
another __ recreational
drug I'd like to advocate
a very unpopular sug-
gestion. Let’s ban all of
it. They’re all detrimental
to human health.

Wait! What's that I hear
from the government?
“No. Keep them legal.”

Why?

Because they make
the government a ton of
money. The dollars from
taxing the tobacco com-
panies must justify the
number of people who
die of cancer. In fact, I'd
wager that anyone who
wants to smoke can.
And by that same logic
the government must be
covering its losses -
both financial and
human - by taxing liquor
companies.

Alright. Then from a

purely financial stand-
point let's legalize
everything and tax it! If
that’s the way the gov-
ernment does business
then they’re missing out
on a huge tax-grab.

Legal drugs cost less
to control than illegal
drugs, right? And illegal
drugs aren’t taxable, are
they? So if we deregu-
late everything health
care can rake it in
through new taxes, for
the low, low price of a
junkie ward and a dope-
head ward.

With a few educational
pamphlets and films -

Nov 1, 1999

Cocaine: your highly-
addictive friend and
Timmy and the Reefer —
itll be as much of a
cash-cow as_ alcohol
and tobacco already
are. So, let’s legalize
everything. The govern-
ment is OK with it, so
why shouldn’t we be?

(Neal Ozano is the
Editor-in-Chief of the
Gateway, the student
newspaper at the
University of Alberta)

Over The Edge welcomes all Letters to the Editor and attempts to print every submis-

LETTERS

regarding the library
about photocopiers, or
anything else, please
let me know so that |
can see what can be
done in as expedited
fashion as possible.

Oh yes, to the individ-
ual who had their
Starbucks mug stolen
from the Library, a
reminder that we don’t
permit food and drink in
the library!

Neil A. Campbell
University Librarian
University of Northern
British Columbia

Tucked below the stairs
of the library is a little
computer lab. The users
of the lab like it for its
seclusion, friendly com-
puters and easy access
to the Internet. (Email
doesn’t require the stu-
dent to log into Novell
then into Pine)

This idyllic setting has
only one problem. The
computers in the lab
boldly bring the user
into the early 1990's.
Fortunately, the com-
puters are able fo run
the latest operating sys-
tem but this has its

drawbacks. It is akin to
running Windows 98 on
a 486 with 8 Mb RAM.
CTS is having to put
more maintenance into
old computers which is
not effective use of
techs who have other
systems to trouble
shoot.

Upgrades to the IBM
labs. and the print
servers meant that the
Mac lab was unable to
access the printers over
the network. With the
increased complexity of
the software, the hard-
ware must updated to

remain useable.

The solution is to
upgrade the Mac lab.
Student demand for this
lab exists, and better
equipment equates to
increased usage.
Upgrading the Mac lab
is logical, cost effective,
and would take some of
the pressure off the IBM
labs. The time is now for
the purchase new com-
puters for the Mac lab.

Aaron Mahoney
Mac user and UNBC
student

sion. Submissions may be withheid and prinded at a later date due to spacial restric-
tions. Over The Edge reserves the right to edit for grammer, spelling, content, or with-
old in whole or part any Letter to the Editor. Letters submitted Anonymously will not

be printed in any way shape or form. Authors who wish to have their name withheld
will be taken into consideration.

Letters to the Editor
can be sent to:

over-the-edge @unbc.ca

Women’s Centre Budget Cut

Lately there have been
a lot of discussions
regarding the 60% bud-
get slush for Women’s
Centre. If you're read-
ing this for the first time,
you’re probably wonder-
ing: How is this justifi-
able? There are many
arguments to this issue,
but allow me to present
you with mine: 1)
Financial accountability
- Women’s Centre was
mandated to submit
monthly financial state-
ments by the contract it
signed with NUGSS.
However, these state-
ments were never fully
submitted and were
done in the poor and
unprofessional manner.
In addition to that, cer-
tain withdrawals were
never recorded in full
detail, leaving the possi-
bility of embezzlement.
Aside from the contract
breach, it is also worth
noting that the Women’s
Centre violated the

terms of NUGSS finan-
cial policy, leaving the
Board of Directors no
choice but to make the
cut. 2) Student
Representation - If you
were here last year you
may remember the “fuck
the patriarchy” sign out-
side the Women’s
Centre. On that same
day UNBC hosted a
government official for a
speech, and | happened
to know that daycare
kids were walking
around the school. Is
this really the manner in
which you as a student
want to be represent-
ed? | certainly think
not. 3) Coordinator
wages - | have seen
organizations much
larger than Women’s
Centre operate without
a paid _ coordinator.
Women’s Centre can’t
possibly argue that it
will falter without this
paid coordinator; or at
the very least her

wages shouldn't
account for nearly 70%
of the allocated funding
by NUGSS_ (these
records are publicly
made available). And
really-how many stu-
dents know this coordi-
nator? 4) Fundraising -
all subsidiary organiza-
tions funded by NUGSS
are asked to fundraise
for good portion of their
operating expenses-
that includes _ clubs,
Over The Edge, and
certainly the Women’s
Centre as well. Given
the fact that Women’s
Centre has not looked
for any alternative rev-
enue sources (i.e. gov-
ernment grants, spon-
sorships, etc) in the last
couple years, | believe
i?’s about time the
Women’s Centre joins
the program like the rest
of the groups under
NUGSS.

(Continued on Page 9)