More police and jailtime won't get to the root of the issue of gang violence. But maybe legalizing drugs would. How would that work? What would it actually look like? And how would it address issues of organized crime, violence and addiction?
Emily Aspinwall, Stark Raven Media Collective
**This interview is self-contained with an intro and extro**
Vancouver has seen dozens of shootings in recent weeks. Understandably, people are concerned and want to do something about this problem.
In this era of addiction to instant results, we are told the answer is to crackdown on this âgang warâ with more police, surveillance and jail time.
But many argue this approach is ineffective and won't get to the root of the issue.
Dr. Richard Mathias is one of those people. Dr. Mathias is a professor of public health and a member of the Health Officers Council of BC. The Council argues that a more productive and humane response would be to legalize and regulate drugs.
Stark Raven speaks with Dr. Mathias about how drug legalization would actually work and how this would impact the issues of organized crime and gang related violence.
To find a copy of The Council's paper on a public health approach to dealing with drugs, you can check out the website of Keeping The Door Open at www.keepingthedooropen.com
========================================== STARK RAVEN MEDIA COLLECTIVE A closer look at prisons & criminalization ==========================================
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