I live in a lax society, which is specifically that of British Columbia. Liberalism is taken quite literally, meaning that if a person wants to do something, it’s deemed generally okay for aforementioned person to do so. This attitude is extended to drug use and marijuana. The problem is seen as so big that it’s no longer viewed as a problem, but a way of life. Marijuana is our number one export, after all, although you would not find it listed in any geography textbook. As so many people are so involved with marijuana, there are constant attempts by grassroots groups of individuals trying to legalize it. The idea is that so many people are guilty of a crime that it should not be called a crime. This is a view that thankfully only applies to prohibition, or else it would lead to very dangerous territory, and the breakdown of society itself.

Yet, the drug trade in B.C. has lead to a gang wars between local groups that have left many dead. In this permissive climate, the general opinion that greets the news of these deaths is, “Good, they had it coming.” People are waiting for the problem to sort itself out: meaning one group should wipe out the other. People are even pining for the days when the Hells Angels had a stranglehold on the province.

This is a province that doesn’t believe in the death penalty. Robert Pickton, convicted of second degree murder of six women and suspected in the deaths of fifty others will spend the rest of his life in prison, but two high school kids selling drugs to classmates are dead here in my hometown. People secretly want capital punishment, but they want it doled out on the street level so they can feel blameless. It’s not vigilante justice either, it’s criminals doing injustice upon each other. They’re leaving the bad guys to take care of the bad guys. Innocent people are getting hurt in the meantime, but the media’s spinning things to make it seem as if everyone’s involved. The wife of a drug dealer has become just as bad as the drug dealer himself.