AbEIPHRBN

THE OLD MAN

/ Recently, one fine morning, I was walking along University Avenue toward Charlottetown.

I had been at the University and had an~ enjoyable conversation with a friend of mine which left me in a pleasant mood.

I was alone on the entire sidewalk — no one else, until, suddenly, about 200 yards ahead of me, there emerged what seemed to me, an old man.

I was no longer alone.

He was coming in my direction. Suddenly,

I no longer felt easy. My thoughts turned to him - who he might be; whether he was happy

or said; rich or poor; in good health or bad.

I was becoming anxious; the closer he came the more

.anxious I became. It suddenly occurred to me that I did not want to meet him. What Will I do when we meet? How will I behave?

Usually what I do is: turn my head or, pretend I am concen- trating on some object, person, or event in the distance so as not to

‘become involved in the encounter.

It is very easy to avoid an encounter if someone is with you, or if there are others close by. But, we were alone.. I would have to face this; I would have to say, "Good morning", or "Hello" and maybe, just maybe, smile; as though I meant it.. But, no! decided I would not smile, it is not my nature. I'll just say hello and keep going. I wish, though, that he were past. But, he's still coming.; "The old bastard! Doesn't he know what he's putting me t_ through?" "Come on, now, of course he

doesn't know; how could‘he?"

I

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‘now,

IWhere did my anxiety

Still, he comes closer. "Get ready he's almost here; don't let the anxiety show - don't give yourself away - play it cool; year, that's it, be cool!" "Clear I your throat, and...

I was dumbfounded! He spoke before I could. He smiled and said, "Good morning. Nice morning, isn't it?"

Completely relaxed I replied, "and good morning to you, sir. Yes, it is a very nice morning."

But, what happened?

go?

The old man took me by surprise, for he did what I did not expect him to do - he greeted me from his heart. No prenten- tionsl But what sur- prised me most of all, was my own genuine response. But how? did not think I could do it. It was him—— the old man.

His sincere greet— ing elicited a genuine response from me. He undermined my phony plot to deceive him by saying "good morning" without meaning it.

But, was it the old man? Or, was it something else?

We went our separate ways.

I have a vague no- tion of why I should be good; but, unlike the old man, I don't know Egg to be good.

He taught me that.

I

*able in many situations

Page; 1

I LAR I J Uni-J A

Why don't people just stop and think sometimes? tion could be applic-

lbut in this case it was sparked by a front— page article in the Charlottetown Guardian of september 28. Deal; ing with police and their opinions on drugs, it started that "...The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has caution— ed against opening

the floodgates for 'clandestine dope' by condemning 'any per— missive legislation

or attitude on the part of any govern- ment”. One wonders what is going on in their heads. Don't they know that they are actually en- couraging the "clandestine" nature of dope? Right now, you and I and the police all know that if the government

were to legalize marijuana and control it in the same manner that liquor is now ‘ controlled, the two— bit criminals who

now profit from its wholesale distribu- tion in the larger cities would be virtually wiped out. They could no longer use the money ob- tained in the lucra- tive marijuana and narcOtic business to buy into other

Stan Dalton

‘7

.prevailing justifi— "cation for these

_cases was to "pro-

fields, legal and illegal. Not only that, but the money obtained from a governmental tax

on the sale of marijuana could be used to benefit society and lighten the tax burden.

One cannot help but draw parallels between this situa- tion and that in- famous episode in North American life known as the

Prohibition. The

restrictions in both

This ques-,

V

sources of supply

for ’L.E'x<.:_3.i” cmxt:..“alaandi" and’providtc Organ- ized crime with immenSe financial backing. This, in turn, led to a sharp

increase in the num— Ler of violent crimes and to the rising

influence of crimin—

~al elements in the

political and social life of the society. Of course, this attitude also fostered a rejection of the society by certain segments within it. How can one respect the laws and morals of a society that accepts documented

=death by tobacco and

the clinically—proven perils of alcoholism while at the same time rejecting marijuana because it is-"dangerous",—

even though this theory has never

been scientifically substantiated. Now, we are not advocating the banning of tobacco, alcohol or any other

’"potential pitfalls."

It is the weakness of the individual that leads to extreme a— buses of these pro- ducts and not the products themselves.. Not so, say the Chiefs of Police. Marijuana is different! "On drugs, the organ~ ization says there are definite signs

“marijuana users grad-

uate to higher drugs like heroin." One might also say ".... there are definite signs that beer users graduate to hard liquor and eventually to alcoholism." What the police are ig- noring is that many people just like sitting back and drinking a beer-—or smoking a joint. In point of fact, I'm sure that if the police would just think about it, they would realize that any disturbance involving young peo- ple is more likely initiated after they have been drinking and not after they have been smoking— up. Marijuana is a much more socially acceptable method

of pleasure—seeking than alcohol. Like the Prohibition of alcohol, the Prohib- ition of marijuana will eventually be seen for what it

is - an absolute souvenir from the

Victorian epoch.