The North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP have identified drugs as a top priority, and rightly so, given their negative effects on individuals and the community as a whole.
Illegal drugs — their production, sale, distribution and consumption — spawn tons of other crime as well (all of the aforementioned are also illegal).
Much of the theft and property crime, break-ins and shoplifting, can be attributed to those trying to get money together to support their habit. Assaults of all kinds go hand in hand with the shady world of buying and paying for drugs, while those who are high may commit crimes, some violent, some not, that they likely would not if sober. Even the nuisance of graffiti can often be tied to drug distribution. Then there’s money laundering and weapons crimes. And homicide is certainly not unknown within this shadowy underworld.
There’s a lot of money involved in illegal drugs, and some are doing very well off the misery of others. They will stop at nothing to ensure that cash flow continues (though killing off their customers with fentanyl seems ill-considered and ultimately self-destructive). It’s not glamorous, or cool. It’s sad, ugly, squalid, violent and sometimes even deadly.
Not something to aspire to, on any side. It is no less than a blight on all the lives it touches, and our society as a whole.
It is vital that the police do their part, and prioritize this scourge, as they have done.
But to eradicate the problem will take more than that. The war on drugs of the last decades has been an abject failure. Which is why, while production and distribution of these substances needs to remain illegal, simple possession for personal use and the use itself needs to be legalized. The government needs to take over distributing drugs to addicts, along with setting up much more comprehensive treatment for those who want to quit using, programs that will include skills training and mental health treatment. Portugal has seen incredible success through such an approach. Time to try something new.
