Oliver North
Junior Member
Originally posted by Deadline
My bad I should have elaborated. Apparently the root origin of the problem originated in Mexico.....I'd probably have to dig abit further but as far as I can remember the war was about drugs and drugs obvoulsy don't come from one place they are transported and have roots in certain countries.
well, sort of...
Canada is hugely regional, right. So like, gangs that form on the west coast don't necessarily share the same history as those that formed in the prairies or in larger urban centers of southern Ontario or Quebec. Because of the geography, BC has always been a top producer of marijuana. For a long time, and still to some large degree, this trade was controlled by mom-and-pop operations and there was little to no gang involvement or violence. However, once this expanded and BC bud could be traded almost pound for pound for cocaine in Southern US states, the amount of money being made began to attract a more "criminal" type.
Interviews with growers and such are pretty much all the same on this point. As cocaine began to flow into the people in BC selling the pot, the violence picked up, because now they had access to huge sums of money and guns. This goes back waaaaaaay before 2009, but it would be the same dynamic at play. BC bud is essentially an internationally recognized "brand" of marijuana, so they are able to sell it either directly to Mexican cartels, or indirectly trade it for Mexican cocaine through middle-men.
Vancouver, being on the West coast, is also a port city that has frequent business in China and other Asian nations, making it a prime spot for human trafficking into Canada, and ecstasy smuggling out of Canada (Canada is a top world producer of ecstasy). This is generally controlled by East Asian organized crime, but it does present another form of financial incentive for gangs to go to war with eachother.
I'm highly skeptical of the wiki entries relating to this, as I've read a lot of government documents and police reports on Canadian gangs that paint a similar, though somewhat different picture of the gangs themselves [for instance, ignoring the punjabi roots of the UN simply because they allowed in other races, or the idea that the UN and IS were on friendly terms], however, it seems like the Red Scorpions and Hells Angels had the IS and UN come into their territory looking for that sweet, sweet coke money. I actually have a lot of trouble believing it was that simple, but sure.
Originally posted by Deadline
Also a bit unrelated apparently you have some gangs that originated in America that have followers in Canada as well.
Some. I know you can find chapters of Crips or Bloods in Toronto (maybe Vancouver, but I've not heard of it), even groups like MS 13 are known to "exist" there, but most of Canada isn't like Southern Ontario.
West of Ontario, most street gangs, especially those with any power, are native groups. The primary gangs (Indian Posse, Redd Alert, Native Syndicate, Warriors) were started in Manitoba or Alberta prisons, and I've never seen anything that suggests natives have adopted the brands of black American street gangs (though, the attire and mannerisms are nearly identical, including the use of the term n*gger).
For sure, Hells Angels started in California and moved across the continent, and the Angels are one of the few organizations in Canada that has a truly national reach.
EDIT: if you are really into this stuff, the book McMafia by Misha Glenny is spectacular. Traces its way around the globe looking at the connections between various gangs in each region. I think at least a chapter is dedicated to the marijuana trade in BC.