I read a “Stop The Violence BC” article about marijuana prohibition. There have been numerous statements by every sort of authority and many writers of opinion pieces which claim that the gang violence we are witnessing in British Columbia is a fight over marijuana. Examine this premise logically. Marijuana is produced in BC and the gang related activity must be activity which results in the sale of large amounts of marijuana far from British Columbia. I am sure there is local distribution of marijuana but with production facilities located in every British Columbia town, where would the conflict occur over the large amounts of money gangs fight over. Where the marijuana is sold, if there was a surplus of marijuana, which I understand is not the situation outside of British Columbia, if there was a surplus, gangs might fight to maintain an exclusive market. This conflict if it does occur would occur far from production facilities. There will be individuals who would steal from other persons, and this could be the source of some violence in British Columbia. Correct me if I am wrong but I don’t recall gang violence being linked with theft from means of production of marijuana. This is not to say that that doesn’t happen, its just that I’ve never heard of innocent victims being gunned down at the scene of a fight over theft at a marijuana production facility.
What do criminal gangs fight and kill for? Criminal gangs fight and kill for the control of incredibly more lucrative per pound and per transaction hard drug sales. The gangs are fighting over control of Heroin, Cocaine and Meth sales. Any of the gang related murderers appear to have been mostly in the Cocaine trade. Correct me if I am wrong.
There is another very important aspect of the prohibition of marijuana use. The prohibition of alcohol, the most widely known prohibition was not nearly as all inclusive or wide ranging as the anti pot laws. The brewing of beer for ones own use could be accomplished by buying a beer starter culture at the grocery store, adding water, letting the wort ferment and then enjoying ones own beer at home without fear of violent attack. Furthermore the production of wine was legal and one could consume ones own wine at home without fear of violent attack. Note: There were political enclaves, towns, counties and even states which had additional restrictions placed on alcohol production and consumption.
There were social clubs where under a variety of different exemptions members could gather and enjoy beer, wine and even hard liquor. Any club which had saved itself a supply of spirits could continue to serve them indefinitely and some private clubs had hard liquor enough to last the length of prohibition.
The laws against marijuana use prohibit any of the aforementioned personal or group enjoyment of marijuana even though the consumption of alcohol is more dangerous and debilitating. The marijuana laws reflect the new preoccupation by Prosecutors and Police with zero tolerance. While zero tolerance may seem reasonable, what it is is a systematic punishment without discretion for personal acts that harm no one. Zero tolerance is a brutal tool wielded by psychopaths given licence to commit acts of violence degradation and destruction by charlatans.
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