Pubdate: Tue, 17 Feb 2009
Source: Chilliwack Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2009 Chilliwack Times
Contact:  http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1357

EXPECT MORE OF THE SAME

No one should have to worry about getting caught in gang crossfire. 
The efforts of the province to combat gang activity are 
well-intentioned, and we hope they have some effect, but there is no 
easy answer.

Some people are inclined to point fingers, especially at the 
soft-on-crime court system. It's true this revolving door approach 
for a bunch of punks scoffing at the system is doing little to curb 
their business activities. It seems clear the rise of gang activity 
in our region has a lot to do with a system that doesn't want to 
punish gangs for selling drugs or weapons offences. Many have blamed 
judges for being out of step with the public. And they're right.

But there's another problem. There is a total disconnect right now 
between our drug laws and actual human behaviour. It's easy to say 
our legislators are out of step with the public. We don't want to 
make light of the health consequences of drugs, but the truth is that 
many otherwise law-abiding people use them. A 2004 Stats Canada 
report said 12.2 per cent of Canadians had used marijuana within the 
previous 12 months--almost double the 1989 totals. The real numbers 
are probably higher.

Many people of all political stripes now recognize that prohibition 
has not worked, just like it failed with alcohol--another drug with 
serious health consequences. It is arguably the biggest social 
engineering failure in modern history. Note that no one is seriously 
talking about bringing it back to combat alcohol problems. The last 
thing we need is a bunch of alcoholics busting into houses to pay for 
their habit.

Changing the drug laws would not be without challenges, but it's the 
one thing we have yet to try seriously as a strategy. And don't kid 
yourself. The gangsters running these supply lines have a vested 
interest in a product whose black market status keeps its price 
inflated. Keep this in mind the next time you pop into the liquor store.

At present, we have the worst of both worlds: a growing sense among 
many people that punishing drug use rather than treating it as a 
health issue is wrong-headed and hasn't worked; at the same time we 
grow frustrated by a legal system that does little to discourage the 
gangs who distribute drugs.

Until we really come to terms with this disconnect in our attitude, 
we can expect more of the same trouble.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart