East Hastings

the judicial system needs a steady stream of law breakers to keep the judges, cops, bailiffs, wardens, corrections officers and lawyers employed. Many of these functions are private industry, or will be soon.

To keep the above scum/scam working, law breaking behaviour is constantly re-inforced in movies and television. It is slanted as HIP and cool. Being bad is something everyone must do once in their life... Look at Travolta\'s character in Pulp Fiction for a good example.

On the flipside, you see the drug industry perform the \'supply\' function, allowing further economic activity to flow to the intelligence communities, CSIS, Mossad, CIA, M16, Chinese Triads, etc. All these groups co-operate with one another to ensure the game continues; The game? a variation of: socializing debts, and privatising profits. (see how clever they are at getting YOU to deal with the \'social\' problem.)

Illegal immigration, drug production, smuggling, all very important to grease government illicit activities. In Canada, during the last ten years, much of the money has been filtered to Israel. It was spelled out in the Sidewinder report, but buried. To many skeletons in the closet, too many important people complicit.

As someone who has dealt with nearly all avenues of this issue right here in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland this is what I think it would take to correct this ongoing and growing problem.

First - there needs to be REAL punishment for those pushing the hard core drugs. That is the supplier, runner and street pusher - regardless of their sober state they need to be locked away and kept from hocking their wares.

Second - safe injection sites. Vancouver is working on this but it needs to be adapted into all the communities. Why it works - those with substance abuse issues would not only then have a safe place to inject but would also do so in such a place that they can see caring counselers and health officials who can steer them in the right directions. There needs to go with this increased rehab facilities. Between the Campbell provincial government and the local municipalities there are fewer and fewer resources available to those that really need it.

An example - when I worked as a jail guard I would call rehab places to try to find beds for those we were about to release. Time and again they would have no availability and the wait time would be months. For some of those I was releasing I could tell they had weeks at the most - not months.

Third - jail those caught doing hard drugs. Why? I only say that as a course of action IF the jails expand their own rehab facilities and couple that with job/school training of some sort. There needs to be both a punishment and a cure, not just the former as we do now as that leads to very little ever getting done.

This problem exists not only in Greater Vancouver but it also can be found in nearly every corner of Canada. In my hometown of Whalley I see each and every day what the anonymous submitter said. I see the homeless. I see the crack and heroin addicts. I see the drug deals, and I see and feel the crime it all brings with it.

To sum up - beyond the need for action - the costs of changing the system as I outlined would more than be made up by reduction in policing costs, private security, insurance increases and all other facets of dealing with but not solving the core issues.

I of course left out the pre-cursors for why the situation is like it is such as poverty and lack of school/job training but that is for another discussion.

Not checked for spelling or grammer so please excuse and mistakes!

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If there was ever a time for Canadians to become pushy - now is the time - for time is running out on this nation called Canada.

As for the homeless problem--addressing poverty in Canada is extremely important, especially child poverty, as Mel Hurtig has said time and time again. This can be done by working to make sure wealth is distributed more equally through any number of practical actions. More low-income housing is a good idea. In too many cases cuts to mental health programs also send people with mental illnesses onto the streets, since they are unable to function in \"normal\" society without help--so keeping a priority on those programs would also do wonders. These basic truths can be applied anywhere.

Its not just a problem in east hasting its in east vancouver the poverty
the drugs the despair its in BC. Apparently just cutting people out of the
budget does not eliminate the problems it only intensifies it.

I'm not sure its they don't want to do anything with the problem as much
as not knowing what to do with it and of course within budget. So lets
be realistic until some real money and though is put into it the
problem(s) will not go away.

all of the addiction on Hastings is there just so people have something to complain about since the police have made more arrests the price of the drugs is the same the quality is worse and the rip off are more really all the police action changed was now go to surrey mission abbotsford delta richmond and they are openly using drugs there now where your children can see it they arent doing any thing here but putting in overtime and helping the scammers rip people off easier because you cant check your dope here some cop might see it you cant openly drink beer here but you can smoke crak and all they do is break your pipe and push you along besides the guys making the money of the crack live in places where the judges live next door not the littl street dealer that is just maintaining his own habit

No that ss why they want the poor downtown but they will kill them all off via drugs salvation army food bad water flu injections before they have the all mighty olimpiks just like expo 86 a few more millionaire car dealers and slum landlords to make richer lets reopen riverview and woodlands before they sell off the land

east hastings is indeed a wonderful,great God Speed You Black Emperor song..i felt a little sorry about your problem with this street stuff (: but i strongly recommend u all this masterpiece song..loves and respects from Turkey.aka LaaResistance