How Do We End Gang Violence? END PROHIBITION!

Print and distribute this pamphlet everywhere:

http://www.bcmarijuanaparty.com/v2/sites/default/files/images/EndProhibi...
http://www.bcmarijuanaparty.com/v2/sites/default/files/images/EndProhibi...

How Do We End The Gang Violence?
END PROHIBITION!

Gang Violence is caused by Drug Prohibition.

Prohibition does not work. It didn’t work for alcohol, and it isn’t working for drugs. Under Drug Prohibition, organized crime controls the enormous drug market. Law enforcement is not able to solve the gang problem. The only way to stop the rising violence and lucrative finances associated with organized crime is to end drug prohibition. If we end Drug Prohibition, we will end the Gang Violence.

Prohibition in the 1920s did not reduce demand or supply of alcohol, but it did result in organized crime and gangsters being in total control of the production, distribution, and sale of booze. As alcohol prohibition was more strictly enforced, and law enforcement increased, the stakes for criminals got higher. Rivals shot at and killed each other in turf wars, trying to control the market and their only source of financial income. Law enforcement was completely unable to stop the increasingly violent gangs and illegal alcohol production. The problems only continued to get worse.

The same thing is happening today with drug prohibition. Gangs are in control of the production, distribution and sale of those drugs, and they settle disputes through violence because they can’t go to the police or courts for legal recourse. If gang members don’t fear getting shot down in the streets by rivals, the threat of longer, stiffer prison sentences and more police officers won’t deter them either. Increased law enforcement will only raise the stakes for organized crime, making gangs more desperate and violent in their efforts to control territory and drug sales.

No one is being murdered or shot at over alcohol, aspirin, tobacco, coffee or prescription drugs, even though those substances can be more addictive and dangerous than some illegal drugs. We need to remove criminal control over the drug market. Marijuana and other prohibited drugs need to be regulated, taxed, and monitored for safety. It’s time to stop the gangs. It’s time to end prohibition.

Drug Prohibition:
• Maintains a high crime rate for the rest of society
• Presents a supply monopoly to the criminal organizations with high levels of illegal profits
• Alienates youth from the police
• Wastes enormous sums of public money that could be much better used for health support & education
• Perpetuates corruption among law enforcement agencies
• Criminalizes individuals who choose to commit acts in private at no threat to others, with a loss of their future individual contribution to society
• Brings other laws into disrepute through the illogicality and mass distain of drug prohibition
• Forces users of less harmful drugs to come into contact with more dangerous and addictive drugs
• Ensures that hard drug users will continue to overdose and die because of a lack of testing and a clean, safe supply
• Prevents honest, fact-based drug education and research

Drug Prohibition benefits organized crime and gangs. Gang Violence will only end when drug prohibition is over, and politicians who support prohibition are supporting organized crime.

Want more information?
Visit these websites:

www.LEAP.cc
www.SenateReport.ca
www.BeyondProhibition.org