Editor 's note : The staff at CNN.com has been intrigued by the journalism of VICE , an independent media company and Web site based in Brooklyn , New York . The reports , which are produced solely by VICE , reflect a very transparent approach to journalism , where viewers are taken along on every step of the reporting process . We believe this unique reporting approach is worthy of sharing with our CNN.com readers . Brooklyn , New York ( VICE ) -- In 2007 , we stood on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing , where we tried and failed to get into the Gaza Strip . Inside , a Palestinian civil war was taking place , pitting political and philosophical rivals Hamas and Fatah against each other . After a succession of assassinations , kidnappings and street battles , Hamas took complete control of Gaza , and for the first time in its history , had to figure out how to run a government . In 2011 , when the post-Mubarak government of Egypt decided to start letting small numbers of folks into Gaza through their Rafah crossing , we knew it was our chance to finally get a rare glimpse of the embattled Gaza Strip and to see what life was like under the rule of Hamas . Much of Hamas ' popularity within Gaza comes from the fact that they are seen as incorruptible , and when they took power they put a concerted effort into stomping out all forms of vice in on their turf . But the same tunnels that allow Hamas to smuggle in weapons from Egypt also allow for a steady flow of drugs . When we met the members of the Hamas vice cops , they were eager to show off their `` trophy case '' which held a wide assortment of some of the drugs and paraphernalia they 've confiscated on raids on homes around the Gaza Strip . Skull-shaped bongs , cocaine , hash , even tall-boy cans of Egyptian beer ... they had it all . But what stood out among all the standard illicit drugs was one called Tramadol . This prescription painkiller has become the drug of choice for young people looking to escape the reality of life in Gaza , something we witnessed during an evening stroll through Gaza City 's central park . See the rest of Crime and Punishment in the Gaza Strip . Combine the widespread Tramadol with Hamas ' strict approach to law and order , and soon you have a lot of young men behind bars . We visited Gaza 's central prison , where drug users and drug smugglers alike are locked in a communal cell , their sentences ranging anywhere from one month , to death by hanging . Elsewhere in the same facility we met a woman who was imprisoned for the crime of having a child out of wedlock and another for helping her son escape from Gaza . Hamas ' firm hand seems to have resulted in a kind of orderliness that is not often seen in places that are as impoverished as Gaza . But it is order with a distinctly authoritarian flavor . The Hamas government operates in an environment of paranoia that has them on guard not only against the outside world , but against their brothers and sisters in Fatah , and against ordinary Gazans whose poverty they fear could tempt them into spying for Israel . An authoritarian government operating within prison walls and under economic siege ... it sounds like the setup for a Kurt Russell movie , except that it 's real .
VICE gets a rare glimpse inside the Gaza Strip to see what life is like under Hamas rule . Crew entered through an Egyptian crossing that opened during the Arab Spring . Score: 7