VANCOUVER, B.C. — The federal government has declared war on drug-dealing gangsters but the foot soldiers who prosecute that war predict the fight will bog down in the legal trenches.
The irony of increasing jail time for gang members is that it actually increases the number of members in gangs and the number of gangs. Many gangs were started and all are expanded by recruitment in jail.
Canadians strongly support tougher sentencing to deal with an apparent surge in gangs, a new Angus Reid Strategies poll says. But half of Canadians also back the legalization of marijuana, the drug which fuels most organized crime activity, especially in B.C.