Pubdate: Thu, 26 Feb 2009
Source: Georgia Straight, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2009 The Georgia Straight
Contact:  http://www.straight.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1084
Author: Chella Turnbull
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n167/a04.html?1192
note: title by newshawk

UNDERLYING ISSUES WILL STILL REMAIN

I read with interest former justice [Jerry] Paradis's comments about 
the Lower Mainland's current problem with gang warfare. While it's 
true that decriminalizing drugs would solve the immediate problem by 
eliminating the market, the underlying issues will still remain. 
People join gangs because this seems to be their most reasonable 
opportunity-financially, socially, and culturally. Eliminate the drug 
market, and another market will be found and exploited soon enough.

The underlying problem fuelling organized crime is our broken 
economic system. Families live in poverty with both parents working 
long, hard hours, and this situation provides a continuous source of 
recruits for gangs. Emotionally alienated children from all 
demographics provide the rest of this human-resource pool.

None of the Band-Aid solutions being offered will do anything to make 
us safer. Even decriminalizing drugs won't do it, as long as we have 
people growing up essentially alone, with no bright future ahead of 
them, ripe for the picking by organized crime. We need to figure out 
how to better support the families of young children, to take some 
pressure off and somehow make life less miserable for the working poor.

Chella Turnbull

Vancouver
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom