SHOOTINGS RELATED TO DRUG WARS

Gunfire on Yonge

No doubt the coming days will see reams of newspaper type devoted to
putting an end to such tragedies. Some of the commentary, such as that
relating racism to the drug trade, will have an indirect bearing on
the subject, but most of it, including the debate about the
availability of handguns, will have little bearing on the problem
because these discussions will avoid the central topic of why these
shootings are occurring. I would wager that 99.9 per cent of these
shootings relate to drug wars over turf. Why are drug turfs worth
fighting and dying for? Because the sale of drugs is highly
profitable. And why is it so lucrative? Because prices are kept
artificially high by laws that make their production and sale illegal.
And why should the citizenry, through its elected representatives,
enact drug laws that benefit the gangs perpetrating these killings?
Never mind that -- the media analysis will never delve that deeply
into our drug laws but will extemporize on the symptoms of the problem
and nothing will change.

Marc Noiseux

Sudbury