HOW WILL OUR LEADERS STOP THE VIOLENCE?

Since former U.S. President Richard Nixon began
the =93War on Drugs=94 in 1971, countries around the
world have developed ever more =AD and ever more
harsh =AD legislative regimes to prevent the
consumption of and trade in illicit narcotics.

And every time a new drug-related law is
implemented, politicians emphasize that it is
necessary for the protection of the public =AD
specifically, to discourage people, and in
particular children, from using drugs, and to
protect everyone from the violence associated with the drug trade.

However, as detailed in a new report from Stop
the Violence BC, a coalition of academics,
current and former police officers, and members
of the public, the war on marijuana has failed to
achieve any of its stated goals. Indeed, the
effect of the war has been the exact opposite of what was intended.

As for the war on drugs failing to achieve its
intended goals: Although the war has cost
governments some $2.5 trillion in the last 40
years, marijuana remains as easy to obtain as
ever =AD and not just for adults, as many
high-school kids say it's either easy or very
easy to get marijuana anytime they want.

Furthermore, the potency of marijuana has
increased and the price has decreased over the
last decade, which might explain why rates of use
are up. And since the prohibition of marijuana
results in an unregulated market for the drug,
public health officials have had a hard time
addressing the harms related to consumption of the drug.

All of that adds up to the war having been a
spectacular failure. If that were the end of the
story, it would be bad enough, since it would
mean governments have wasted trillions of dollars
of taxpayers' money for no tangible benefit.

But unfortunately, it's much worse than that.
Marijuana prohibition has acted as a boon to
organized crime, particularly in B.C., where
large amounts of the drug are produced. This has
resulted in billions of dollars flowing to
criminal gangs, and has allowed them to finance other ventures.

Things are worse still, since, as every British
Columbian knows, the prohibition of marijuana has
resulted in serious violence. Indeed, several
studies have provided conclusive evidence of a
link between drug prohibition and violence, and a
close correlation between homicide rates and the
amount of funding funnelled to the drug war.

The war on drugs has therefore been more than a
spectacular failure =AD it has been at least partly
responsible for the growth of organized crime and
for a dramatic increase in serious violence in
our communities. British Columbians are evidently
well aware of this, as a recent Angus Reid poll
found 87 per cent attribute gang violence to
gangs fighting over marijuana profits. And just
12 per cent support keeping marijuana laws in place.

With this overwhelming public support for change,
and the overwhelming evidence of the damage done
by marijuana prohibition, one would expect
politicians to respond. Yet instead, the federal
government, in its omnibus crime bill, plans to
implement mandatory sentences for
marijuana-related crime, which, all of the
evidence would suggest, will result in an increase in violence.

This simply isn't good enough. Our leaders have a
responsibility to implement and support measures
that will protect the public, rather than doing
the opposite. And since the evidence is in =AD
since we know what will increase and decrease
violence =AD it's time for politicians to detail
exactly how they plan to reduce gang violence in
the future. And it's time the public demanded that politicians do so.

On Nov. 10, Stop the Violence BC will be holding
Down to the Wire, a panel discussion with Major
Neill Franklin of Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition, Damon Barrett of Harm Reduction
International, and Evan Wood of the B.C. Centre
for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. The discussion begins
at 7 p.m. at SFU Woodward's Cinema. For more
information, see stoptheviolencebc.org