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[em All submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. name and address The Sun-Tribune reserves the t to publish or not publ and to edit for clar- ltylndspace. “Show. huh-10m manna newspapers The Sun-Tribune. published every Thursday and Saturday, is a division of the . Metroland Media Group Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary ofTorstar Corporation. Metroland is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group also includes The Liberal. sewing Richmond Hill and momhill, Vaughan Citizen,The Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora), Markham Economist Sun, Geargina Advocatexork Region Business Times, North of the City, yonaagjonmm and York Regan Pn'nting. MA 067. Imuoncyrmgxom York Region Media Group community Retail Manager Mike Banuille mbanuilleOyrmg.com Bonnie Rondeah bmndnuOyrmg.com Dawna Andrews Carolyn Norman cnormanGyrmgcom lETIERS POLICY 905640-2612 Fax: 905-640-8778 Dlsmnunou Circulation lim Mason jmasonéyrmgoom Pnonucnon DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 ADVERTISING 905640-2612 Red: 1-800-743-3353 m 905-640â€"8778 EDITORIAL EDITORIAL Allow doctors to continue prescrib- ing the substance, but have pharma- cists oversee distribution. It’s the only way to stop the poten- tial for abuse and make our communi- ties safer. You can read editorials, letters to the editor and columns print- ad in The Sun-Ih'bune on our website. Go to yorlaegion.com It could be the house next door and, according to the government, you don't have a right to know about it. Neither do the police. York Regional Police have already stumbled upon two in residential neighbourhoods in our community. Whereare the others? The practice of licensing individu- als to grow and harvest marijuana for personal use should end immediately as it’s clear Health Canada doesn't have the resources or desire to police the program effectively. There’s potential for mould and electrical problems, not to mention attracting criminals if word gets out about what’s going on inside the home. A crook won't care about a Health Canada licence when he busts down the idocr seeking to rip off the place. Such inciderits are all too 60mmon in other parts of the region where ille- gal grow-ops flourish. . There are no rules on where these approved pot farms can be established, according to Health Canada. We've all heard about levels of gov- ernment or agencies tasked with our protection failing to communicate with one another, but this takes it to a whole new level. Licensed or not, a marijuana grow- ing operation, particularly one that operates without oversight, comes with inherent risk.- Let's get this straight. The federal government grants licences to individuals to grow “medicinal” marijuana for their own use, but refuses to tell the local police services who holds such licences and it appears inspections are all but non- existent. DOes anyone see the potential for abuse here? Editorial D0 away with homegrown pot program lfthey say they fofind it. we pull out all the stops to find the owner. We have Whenever they tell me they have borrowed anything from a friend, I check with the friend to make sure this isthecase. As a parent, if one of my children showed up with any of the above items I would without doubt question where it came from. To my 14-year-old, these were his worldly possessions. Gifts from his Grade 8 graduation, 13th birthday and Christmas. What puzzles me the most is the fact someone has this bag, knows who it belongs to. but has decided to keep it for themselves Inside were the following items: Candy apple red iPod, red PSP, ear phones, Call of Duty Xbox game, Amer- ican Eagle jeans, A/E red t-shirt, A/E white with red striped shirt and a wallet with identification. We proceeded to search every change room, garbage can, lost and found and the entire rink area. All staff helped to look as well. Unfortunately it was gone. A friend mentioned they noticed this bag during my son’s hockey game at 1:55 pm. I was sitting there with about only 10 other people, unbeknownst my son placed his bag there. My son realized he left it there durâ€" ing their awards presentation at 3 pm. He returned to retrieve it only to find it missing. Teenagers woddly possessions taken from Stouffville Arena On Saturday, April 4, my 14-year- old son left a small tan-coloured sling back bag at the Stoufiville Arena. It was under a seat against the far east wall of Pad B. Letters to the Editor 'DlDNT SLEEP ALL NIGHFâ€" car mo AROUND mt: EASTER EGG CANDIES we HID ALLOVER THE HOUSE FOR THE GRANDKIDS! SfifiwA-Tribune As seen from the south side sidewalk on Main Street, it appears as though Stouflville has combined the two. And what’s in all those lumpy little black plastic bags that are no longer hidden in shrubbery or snowbanks? BARBARA BRASS DUNCAN STOUFFVILIJ-I Stoufl’ville also has what looks like a garbage dump. Kids just don’t find things. People lose things. If the items wene returned, we would all feel prouder‘ of the society in which we live. (reek or garbage dump? Not every town has a creek running through it. Stouffville has. It was heart-wrenching to watch my son look frantically for his belongings and have to explain that not everyone is honest. He realizes he made a bone- head move leaving his bag where he did. A tough and costly lesson. It is clear from the above actions that others instill “finders keepers" and only to worry about yourself. even gone so far as to put an ad in the paper looking for the owner. We as parents try to instill a sense of honesty and respect in our children. To teach them to treat others as they wish to be treated. I’m guessing that this isn't the case in all households. PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot D What do you think of these issues or others? E-mail letters to the editor to jmason@yrmg.com (/WuLzRJm w-mw’f HAVE YOUR SAY 6290 Main St. Stoufivme, ON. MA 167 www.yoflcegion.oom KAREN KIATIPIS WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE EDITOR IN Cum? Debora Kelly I didn’t thank him for'scaring the bejeebers out of me. I did thank him for doing his job well. “lust doing random spot checks tonight," the young officer said after running my driver’s licence through his computer. “You’re free to go. Have a good night.” In 27 years of living here, I'd been stopped by police once, for going 14 km/h over the speed limit on Hwy. 48 in 1983. Guilty as charged, I paid the tiny fine. Until last week, that is, when a York police car came out of nowhere on otherwise deserted Bloomington Road. I had been doing the limit, stopped at Warden Avenue. when the big lights lit up the countryside. I think I've got an idea of what their life is like. And, as much as I don’t want it for myself, 1 thank them for being out there in all kinds of weather, in all sorts of nasty, often criminal, situations. BUSINESS MANAGER Robert Lazurko In 30 years of journalism, I've interviewed hundreds of police offi- cers. In case we ever forget, they're people, too. Mth marriages, kids, health problems, unwanted stress, mortgages and parking tickets. l have friends who are cops, including my best pal from high school. I’ve covered the funerals of officers killed on the job and writ- ten stories on officers of the year. That’s in case anyone wondered, after I wrote about an unusually elevated police presence on a Sat- urday morning in sleepy Stouffville. Readers responded in well-written letters. We thank them for sharâ€" ing and showing a passion for the safety of their neighbourhoods. Iim Mason is editor of The Sun D‘ibune. I appreciate the work of our soldiers around the world and our emergency workers here at home. For the record, my SUV stops for fire trucks with their lights flashing, charity bake sales with butter tarts and little tykes at crosswalks. Getting pulled over by police never felt so good with Jim Mason Off The Top Dumcnm. Anvmrnsmc, DISTRIBUTION Nicole Fletcher Dumcmn, Ormumons Barry Black