Quote:
Originally Posted by wave46
Is the connection alcohol, though? Or changing demographics? Or the explosion of drug trade?
Booze was the vice of choice because it was the only choice for most until the '70s and '80s. Other drugs had a much more limited distribution. I'd imagine that Winnipeg's demographics in its poorest areas have changed since that time.
Making alcohol cheaper probably won't 'cure' drug addiction IMO.
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The near North and near West Ends of Winnipeg as well as a small portion of the downtown, the areas where most of the city's violent crime occurs, have if anything witnessed a slight gentrification in recent decades.
"Booze" was definitely not the only choice in the 70s and 80s. There were plenty of other choices such as cocaine, PCP and speed, all of which were more prevalent than today. What didn't exist were cheap and toxic meth and crack as well as large numbers of people zombified by SSRIs. In the United States at least, deaths from drug overdose have doubled in the past decade. I would think that the statistics for Canada would not diverge markedly.
No one is arguing that alcohol does not result in social pathologies. It has for centuries. (There was a "gin craze" in the 17th and 18th centuries that provided the impetus for the temperance movement). All drugs do to varying degrees, even marijuana is not entirely benign. I think the point is that it's preferable for an addict to drink a 12 pack of beer rather than do meth. At current prices though so many use a cheaper alternative.
To be fair though, I'll likely be in agreement with you that drug use and distribution of any kind is only one of the roots of violent crime.
And yes, Canasian is right, Winnipeg is not the murder capital of Canada, at least at the moment, though the numbers for 2019 and 2020 so far are very troubling. Saskatoon was last year and for a few years consecutive prior to that it was Thunder Bay, and I think Regina took the "prize" at some point in the last decade. Toronto has been up near the top too in recent years, in 2018 it's homicide rate was higher than that for New York City.