Drugs Tobacco

Business owners have had enough of addicts shooting up,
street people urinating, panhandling or sleeping in their entrances,
and petty criminals breaking into or vandalizing their shops
or their customers' vehicles.

CONCERNED CITIZEN DRUG WAR

I want to write a letter to the Mayor with a petition to state that
We, Victoria's Concerned Citizens,
are outraged and cannot accept it any longer.
I will get hundreds of people to sign it and
I will get people to rally and protest up and down Yates
and any other areas that have problems

To Orwell Today,
re: CANADA DRUG SCENE DISGUSTING

Hi,

I just finished reading your article on Victoria's street scene. Yes I agree, as a local citizen I am outraged by the lack of direct action on these people. They should all be rounded up as far as I am concerned, but sad for us we don't have a justice system here!

The city has made it far too easy for street people (street linz, places like our place, upper room etc.) and now we have a new threat: Gangs from LA have come up and they are selling large amounts of crack to the street sellers. It's not even crack, it's solvents and bad chemicals that make people sick. It's a war that Victoria will lose because no tough action is being taken, and again we have no quick swift justice in this country.

In fact it appears that Canada is losing the war country wide and with no justice the street bums get to OWN the streets, in fact it appears that they own the entire downtown of the city! Think about the business owners who are on the strip of Yates street. It's very hard for them to control it and it's become so bad that anyone on that strip is in a threat of getting hurt. The other night in that area on Yates a street girl asked 2 fellows for a cigarette. When they brought out the pack to give her one, a fellow of her GANG (3 or more are a gang) swooped by with a bike and stole the pack. When the young men attempted to call the police the gang struck back - the fellow on the bike flew after the guy and attacked him with the bike. Of course by the time the cops got there it was far too late - but what was kinda funny is when they did get on to Yates street they drove right up the sidewalk where all the nasty action is. I liked that cus it's a good way to scare em off.

But still the street drug dealers own that strip. They own it so much it has ruined the local business and made the downtown core a center of misery and fear. Oh don't worry there is a very good reason to have fear around these people. They pack weapons and they are not afraid to use them. It's them against us - street gangs against the regular happy citizens who are now miserable and fed up with the entire thing. Things have happened - assaults and nasty crimes but what is really a scare is the fact that LA gangs are now here and they are willing to protect their assets- drug dealing. A security guard saw a fellow on a bike who gave a group of dealers a large amount of crack bags. Then the guy biked away, ditched the bike and his coat and then got into a very expensive vehicle and off he goes, never to be seen or caught but he makes a fist full of money - why? Because Victoria is weak and stupid and they don't seem to want to take tough action. If the Mayor had half a brain he wouldn't be opening all these helpful means to cater to them. Instead they need to round them up and force them to become productive and proper citizens or they should be jailed.

Also another thing, there are all of these new condos being built in the downtown core. Who do you think will live there? The rich who can afford it. Do you think they will enjoy living there surrounded by all of the nasty action? What is the Mayor thinking?

Anyway I am very upset about this and I wish all sinners and evil people to die so the earth can have peace - so I pray to god for this wish and also my life because no street is safe downtown.

Other than that I hope to make a splash. I want to write a letter to the Mayor with a petition to state that We, Victoria's Concerned Citizens, are outraged and cannot accept it any longer. I will get hundreds of people to sign it and I will get people to rally and protest up and down Yates and any other areas that have problems. We will shout NO MORE DRUGS DOWNTOWN, KEEP VICTORIA CLEAN AND FREE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS, NO MORE DRUG DEALERS AND NO MORE DRUG USERS.

This is my wish and vision and I will persist to organize it so it is captured in the media and good people take action to keep it clean and clear and UNDER CONTROL!!!

Thank you for reading my passionate letter. I again feel very sad and devastated that the city has fallen to ruins. When I am going to launch my protest on Yates street, I will inform you if you want about day and time.

Thank you again,
Bruce McConkey

Greetings Bruce,

Thanks for your passionate letter about the human misery you're witnessing on the streets of Victoria and your plans to attempt to do something to stop it. Yes, please send info about the petition and protest and I'll post it on "Orwell Today".

All the best,
Jackie Jura

PS - Those new condo owners won't have to worry about the drug dealing which will eventually be moved elsewhere - after having driven the present businesses and residents out through bankruptcy or fear of violence. That's prime real estate which is presently in the process of being set up for development. The same situation is going on in downtown Vancouver

Reader Ray says Big Brother has his dirty mitts all over the drug trade, including the poppy fields in Afghanistan

Victoria mean street scene pushes out another business. Business Examiner, Apr 7, 2008
...Some business owners have had enough of addicts shooting up, street people urinating, panhandling or sleeping in their entrances, and petty criminals breaking into or vandalizing their shops or their customers’ vehicles....Two years ago, "Our Place", a homeless drop-in-centre, moved in a few doors down..."If you think it is bad in the daytime, you should see it at night," said "Casa Nova Cafe" owner Medeiros, who saw business cut in half because customers didn’t feel comfortable negotiating sidewalks congested with street people and shopping carts piled high with garbage gleanings. Medeiros said it is not just the drug activity, but the constant threat of violence that hangs over the area....

Health Minister wants safe drug-injection site for Victoria. Mar 31, 2008
...A feasibility study commissioned by the city and the Vancouver Island Health Authority recommended a few supervised drug consumption sites around the city. The recommendation was supported by B.C. Health Minister George Abbott, the Victoria Police Department and others. Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe championed the report and said the city would apply to Health Canada for an exemption to federal drug laws to operate the sites as a research project....Supervised consumption sites were first established in Europe about 20 years ago, and now exist in about 15 countries, including Switzerland and Germany. North America's only site, called Insite, is located in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The facility provides high-risk street drug users - such as those who inject drugs or smoke crack cocaine - with a protected environment to prevent overdoses and clean equipment. It also provides other support, including treatment referrals. In Victoria, the sites have been identified as a way to bring drug users in off the street, and complement the city's needle exchange, which gives users new equipment but nowhere to inject their drugs.

Drugs Tobacco

Health Minister bans tobacco selling & smoking in all public places. Victoria Times Colonist, Apr 5, 2008
...Like many other businesses that sell tobacco products, the landmark Victoria shop, which has been open since 1892, is facing a tough battle complying with new provincial legislation that took effect Monday. It prohibits the display of tobacco products in stores accessible to people under 19 years of age....The busy strip of Government Street is popular with families on vacation, so Arora has put a sign outside his doors prohibiting entry to anyone younger than 19. "Being a tourist business for so long, everybody's coming in. We tried to shut the door and the business dropped like anything."... Drug-dealers make sales on Government Street, said Arora, "and my business is legal. I pay major taxes, with property taxes close to $40,000..."

22.Doublethink and 38.Cellars and 35.The Brotherhood

DRUG WAR & PEACE

Jackie Jura
~ an independent researcher monitoring local, national and international events ~

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