cannabisnews.com: Wilderness Gets Wilder As Dopers Run Amok!





Wilderness Gets Wilder As Dopers Run Amok!
Posted by FoM on August 05, 1999 at 13:41:03 PT
Canadian Press 
Source: Miami Herald
WAIPAROUS, Alberta -- The thousands of people who converge on a ``lawless'' wilderness area to camp, party and sell marijuana from roadside stands have angered nearby residents while authorities say they don't have enough officers to keep the area under control.
``The lawlessness is absolutely profound,'' Hugh Pepper, deputy reeve of the Municipal District of Bighorn, said of the region along Banff National Park's eastern boundary.``People are flocking there precisely because the area lacks any enforcement or law and order.''Pepper said it was not uncommon to see roadside dealers selling marijuana joints for C$5 (U.S.$3.35) apiece.Campers are ``desecrating'' the Rocky Mountain foothills with four-wheel drive vehicles and leaving litter-strewn campsites, said Bighorn council member Bob Taylor.Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Rob Savage said he was aware of the situation, but has only 21 officers to patrol the remote gravel roads and riverbeds in the 1,400-square-kilometer (540-square-mile) Waiparous region.Thousands of people invaded the area last weekend. Tarpaulins proliferated at unofficial campsites strewn with piles of empty beer cans. Some of the campsites had trash heaped higher than the firewood.Since the camping is unregulated, there are no outhouses, and mounds of human excrement and soggy toilet paper dotted the forest floor.A burned-out car was left on a creek bank. A stream of beefed-up trucks, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles cut through every forest opening large enough to accommodate a set of handlebars.``They're ruining the creeks and tearing up the land. Things are completely out of control,'' said Taylor. ``It's not safe to take your family in there anymore.''Four-wheel-drive clubs say a small percentage of rowdy and irresponsible off-road drivers cause most of the problems.The answer is beefed-up enforcement to clear out the troublemakers before the province declares the region off-limits to off-roaders, said Ken Hodgins, president of the Alberta Four-Wheel Drive Association.``There's so much room out here,'' said Murray Nutt of Calgary, as he straddled a dirt bike and gestured to the encircling Ghost River valley, gray mountain peaks looming in the background.``There's room for everybody if we respect each other's needs.''Published Wednesday, August 4, 1999, in the Miami Herald 
END SNIP -->
Snipped
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #1 posted by Robb Leece on May 07, 2000 at 17:49:09 PT:
Waiparous needs better inforcement.
It's getting better, the last long weekend that we went out there, you couldn't move without seeing a cop. They were a little bit overbearing and left no leaway. For instance. A guy was setting up his camper, grabbed a beer and his lawn chair, went to the fire, finished his beer, walked back to the camper to grab the rest of his flat... A cop made him pour out all 23 of his beers and charged him with having open liquor on crown land, all because his camper was on one site, and his friends with the fire were at another site 12 feet away.Although it was really strict, we all know that it was an action that was necessary. Hopefully we will be able to have the place cleaned up before it gets shut down.
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: