Pubdate: Fri, 16 Nov 2007
Source: North Shore News, The (CN QU)
Copyright: 2007 The North Shore News
Contact:  http://www.ns-news.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4497
Author: Keith Baldrey
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

LEGALIZE DRUGS TO COMBAT GANG VIOLENCE

IT'S not often that gang warfare makes its way into the legislature 
as the main topic of debate, but that's exactly what happened this 
month as the Lower Mainland seemed to morph into something out of The 
Untouchables.

Gangland shootings -- almost a dozen deaths in recent weeks -- have 
dominated the headlines and newscasts, and politicians on both sides 
of the house found themselves grappling with an issue usually far 
from their bailiwick.

There was a lot of talk about amalgamating police forces in the Lower 
Mainland into a cohesive regional force, the need for tougher 
sentences for gang members and frustration about immigration polices 
that allow some convicted gang leaders to avoid deportation.

But one issue wasn't raised: whether or not the legalization of drugs 
might at least be considered a viable option in the face of apparent 
unstoppable growth of organized crime and gang activity in this province.

Neither the B.C. Liberals nor the New Democrats want to go down that 
road, and prefer to yell at each other about which party is tougher 
on criminals.

The police, and Solicitor General John Les, initially tried to 
downplay the outbreak of violence as nothing more than an unfortunate 
statistical spike in such behaviour. After a few days their attitude 
seemed to change, culminating in a showy news conference featuring 
all kinds of police officers trooping into the same room to show they 
have a united front against the bad guys.

But does anyone actually believe the police are winning this war? Law 
enforcement authorities themselves have acknowledged that organized 
crime and illegal gangs are increasing -- not decreasing -- their 
presence in communities.

Drug trafficking is the economic backbone of those organizations. 
There are enormous profits to be had in the procurement and sale of 
illegal substances, and the primary reason for those profits is the 
fact they are illegal in the first place.

The recent spate of gang shootings invoked more than one comment that 
the Lower Mainland was becoming like Chicago of the 1920s. Most of 
those comments were made tongue-in-cheek, but the comparison is apt 
in an important way -- back then, the illegal substance fuelling the 
criminal empires of people like Al Capone was alcohol.

When Prohibition was repealed, the gang wars died down. When the 
illegality of alcohol was gone, so too was the profit margin for the gangs.

And now one has to wonder whether the current war on drugs is doing 
more harm than actual use of those drugs. Can the police really point 
to huge success stories in their relentless, ongoing clash with drug 
kingpins and low-lifes?

More importantly, who should control the use and distribution of 
drugs -- criminal organizations or the government?

These are not idle questions. In fact, key people in both health and 
law enforcement circles are advocating a radical new attitude towards drugs.

In the United States, a group of current and ex-police officers have 
created an organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition 
(L.E.A.P.; check out their website www.leap.cc). That organization, 
to which many ex-narcotic officers belong, makes credible arguments 
about how the current approach to illegal drugs is an abysmal failure.

And the controlled use of drugs has crept onto the public health 
scene in recent years. The safe injection site in Vancouver is an 
example of the tacit acknowledgement there is a role for the state 
when it comes to the control and use of certain drugs.

Some public health advocates say we should go even further and 
actually medically prescribe the drugs to addicts, many of whom are 
so desperate they will routinely break the law to finance their 
habit. Giving them secure access to something they need presumably 
would greatly reduce their criminal activity.

The amalgamation of police forces may indeed help combat the 
activities of gangs and organized crime. But then again, it may prove 
to be no more effective than what is being done now.

However, eliminating the profit margin from the gangs' core economic 
activity -- drug trafficking -- may do a heck of a lot more than 
shuffling the police bureaucracy.

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Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global B.C.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman