Remembering the victims of cannabis
THOSE who kid themselves that the trade in cannabis is a victimless crime should take a long hard look at the experience of those forced to work in it.
Trafficked into Britain in search of a better life, illegal Vietnamese immigrants are kept in squalid houses where they farm the drug on an industrial scale to pay off their 'debt' to those who brought them here.
It means drug production no longer happens hundreds or thousands of miles away, it happens right here. On our doorstep. Under our noses.
In doing so, the drug lords are simply following the business model of any industry by moving the point of production to the point of consumption.
If there wasn't the demand for it they wouldn't be here.
And the fact that police in West Yorkshire closed down 215 cannabis farms in the first six months of this year alone shows demand for the drug is sky high.
Officers say they're determined to make the region a hostile environment for those who cultivate cannabis commercially and we pray they succeed.
All too often these shadowy figures are linked to organised crime and the last thing we want is for West Yorkshire to become a breeding ground – either for cannabis or for those who grow it.
Graffiti arrogance
GRAFFITI vandal Alexander Trigle is getting a taste of his own medicine after causing nearly 17,000 of damage to three Leeds communities.
The 21-year-old put his 'tag' on walls, pillars and homes across Headingley, Woodhouse and Hyde Park – costing taxpayers a fortune in the process.
Now a court has ordered him to do 200 hours of unpaid work with the council team charged with the task of removing his unsightly scribbles.
It's just desserts for this selfish individual who thought nothing of blighting whole neighbourhoods with his handiwork.
Arrogant Trigle says his opinion on graffiti is "different from the court's" and clearly sees his daubings as art.
In a way he's right. Graffiti can be artistic – just look at the success of the recent exhibition staged by reclusive sprayer Banksy.
But when it's in a place where people don't want it, it's criminal damage – pure and simple.
Yorkshire on show
IT'S that time of year again when we escape the city for a day and celebrate all that's great about our magnificent countryside.
And while there are showers forecast for the Great Yorkshire Show it's unlikely they'll dampen the spirits of the thousands flocking to the Harrogate showground.
In the wake of the axe falling on the 170-year-old Royal Show it's heartening to see this magnificent event going from strength to strength.
Here's hoping that it'll keep showing all that's great about Yorkshire for many years to come.
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
