Gang warfare - and drugs !

The movie industry has made a lot of money out of the American era of prohibition - and with it characters like Al Capone and Elliot Ness.   Gang warfare in the streets brought  the advent of the " Tommy gun " - and this all seemed to be a way of life far removed from Australia.

Not any more !    Each day seems to bring a new case of Sydney or Melbourne homes being sprayed with gunfire - or of rival gangsters being cut down in a hail of bullets.   In New South Wales the police are concerned that a burnt out car found near Macquarie Pass may be evidence of an underworld " hit ".

Gangster eras evolved around a common thread.    Something was illegal - but desired by the public.  There was money to be made by organising to create supply.   

In early twentieth century America that illicit item was alcohol.    Here in Australia - and in the rest of the world - the present incentive to organised crime - is drugs !    The drug epidemic permeates through every level of society.   Some people create " drug labs " in the kitchen of their homes  while others convert whole houses into hydroponic Marijuana " gardens ".   Governments and police forces lose control of entire countries like Colombia and Mexico.   We are now familiar with the phenomenon of the " Narco State ".

This world wide crime wave is dependent on one single aspect - there must be strong demand for it's product.

Perhaps the time has come to re-think the war on drugs.   We have been fighting it for decades with little success.  Countless villains have been arrested, convicted and jailed - but this has not put even a small dent in the availability of drugs on our streets.

The Americans learned a hard lesson.   Their citizens were determined to drink alcohol - and so Congress repealed prohibition - and the guns fell silent.     If citizens here are determined to smoke Marijuana, then maybe it is time to control this substance in the same way we control alcohol and tobacco.

Of course we know that drugs injure people's health and overindulgence causes death, but then so does alcohol and tobacco, but we have learned to live with that.    That which is forbidden always has appeal. Creating legal supply under strict conditions would certainly spike the guns of the criminals, but it could  also cause loss of interest once the " illegal " tag was removed.

We are certainly not winning the drugs war - and the way violent crime associated with it is increasing  sends a message that now is the time to re-evaluate our thinking.