The Vancouver Province ran an interesting article about a former drug addict from the Downtown East Side claims they benefitted from a longer prison sentence.
I was one who appeared to be 'hopeless'. For some reason, I got out. Let's be real here - I was on the streets from age 11, addicted to the needle at age 16, and completely and utterly homeless and hopeless by age 21. I slept in alleys, did not eat for days, did not shower, had no home, was high 24/7, and 'tweaked' - or otherwise acted really super weird when I got high (which was 24/7).
I sold dope on the corner of Main and Hastings to feed my addiction - thank goodness for the 'Spanish' dealers out there who let me work for them or I would have had to sell my body on the corner for what $10, thank God I never had to go there!
The reason for my post is that people CAN change. I made a choice, after one more arrest in 1999 in which after working a day selling rock on Hastings on a welfare day, I got busted. I was given 20 months - which really you don't hear about, my opinion is people need to be given longer sentences to enable them to access the help that is out there.
For me, after many years of being busted and sent to jail for short periods of time, I was finally considered a 'long term offender' someone with a longer sentence and was able to access the help I needed - such as anger management, conflict resolution, self esteem, and counseling for all the *** in my childhood.
Yay for me. I was released in January 2001. By mid January I was back on the streets in the DTES. By Feb 7th I was on a bus to a new province and made a change. I left.
I was given the choice to move away (yes - geographical moves DO work), I was shown how to make a resume, and get a job - really If I could work for the dealers, make change, barter, etc etc then I think I could work pretty much anywhere entry level lol).
I think the two points here are 1) A longer prison sentence helped and 2) Access to support services helped. This is supported by the former drug addict at the Surrey Crime Prevention meeting who said incarceration is the best thing for these addicts. We’re not talking about ten or twenty years. Three months with no access to drugs if caught stealing to pay for their addiction is not excessive. It’s in their best interest.
Apparently it's in all our best interests. And three months is still a LOT less than they'd get down south.
ReplyDeleteAgent K, those "long sentences" don't seem to be evenly applied, this is an Outrage!
ReplyDelete"Appeal court upholds house arrest for man found with 17 kilos of cocaine."
"Normally, a person caught selling 17 kilograms of cocaine would be sent to prison for up to 12 years."
"But a young man, Nathanael Lucas Nesbitt, was busted with that amount in Kelowna and was sentenced to less than two years of house arrest."
"The "wholesale" value of the drugs was estimated at $540,000, or $1.4 million if sold by the gram on the street. The Crown appealed, arguing the sentence was "unfit." "
http://tinyurl.com/7nqc7v4 (V. Sun)
And, they lost of course, was Pearce in on this one...?
From now on, anyone caught in a multi-kilo bust will bring this up in Court right away, no...? This guy, at times, may have had thirty to forty kilos in his house!
I'm not a fan of the outrageously long prison sentences that they have in the States but 2 years of house arrest for 17 kilos of cocaine is totally messed up. Yes this does form case law and will be used as jurisprudence for future cases. The crown has to appeal it. Peter Leask gave CJ Spoon house arrest for selling cocaine for the Hells Angels. That was outrageous on it's own and I doubt he was caught with that much cocaine. This case shows something ism wrong. Under Harpers new law, someone will get more actual time inn prison for growing pot plants. Selling cocaine is much worse.
ReplyDeleteHere's something new for BC, and interesting;
ReplyDelete"Pure ecstasy can be ‘safe’ for adults; should be regulated: B.C. health officer."
VANCOUVER—B.C.’s top health official says taking pure ecstasy can be “safe” when consumed responsibly by adults, despite warnings by police in Alberta and British Columbia about the dangers of the street drug after a rash of deaths."
"Dr. Perry Kendall asserts the risks of MDMA — the pure substance originally synonymous with ecstasy — are overblown, and that its lethal dangers only arise when the man-made chemical is polluted by money-hungry gangs who cook it up."
"That’s why the chief provincial health officer is advocating MDMA be legalized and sold through licensed, government-run stores where the product is strictly regulated from assembly line to check-out."
http://tinyurl.com/bwq4yzz (TorStar)
That won't be liked by the VPD, who, I'll bet, will respond today very negatively, in the press.
I think that’s another example of a “medical doctor” who is a complete crackpot on the take. Ecstasy is very dangerous. It’s not just the knock off brand that’s killing people.
ReplyDelete