The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

              The war on drugs was waged and fought with good intentions. But after 43 years of battling, we are compelled to evaluate its results and determine if it should continue. President Nixon declared a war on drugs in 1971 that is still waged on an increased level today, however that does not mean that this is best for society. The good is also found in the intent to arrest those at the top of the food chain in the illegal drug market to stop distribution.

Evaluators of this war must also study the epidemic of prison construction that has plagued our nation during those four decades. They will also have to consider the thousands of lives ruined by the incarceration of the mother and/or father, and how much the inmate, their family and society continue to suffer just like civilians in any other city where war was waged. That is the bad part, and therefore there are many negative results. The big fish was never reeled in. The flow, distribution and use of illegal drugs did not diminish. Even after every resource was utilized, the war on drugs stands as a big failure.

In summary, what constitutes the good? Our good intentions do but that’s about it. The bad is the irreparable harm to millions of citizens caught in the war zone. They were locked up for long periods of time, mothers and fathers were taken from their families and taken to prisons located hundreds of miles away, placing more stress on the family unit. The nation’s cities are in shambles from the war on drugs, but the suburbs and countryside remain relatively intact. African Americans and Hispanic or Latinos are sent to jail more than whites, even though use and availability of illegal drugs is similar for all three races. So, how about the ugly?

The ugly consists of the violence city residents regularly witness and fear: Drive-by shootings, murders, gang-related retaliation, the deaths of innocent bystanders, including children and the stress of living in a community with the knowledge that almost everyone owns and carries a gun. It’s a place where increased arrests, along with prosecutions and punishments, are suffered by the residents within city limits. Stop-and-frisk law enforcement tactics and aggravated punishments for distributing drugs in the city are at the forefront of this argument. The fact that nearly every illegal drug transaction in a city is within 1,000 feet of a school zone results in the majority of offenders being caught in the web of more lengthy mandatory minimum sentencing. That does not exist in the suburbs or rural America. Neither do stop and frisk law enforcement tactics.

The ugly can also be represented in the ineffective law enforcement programs. Everyone wants the drug problems to stop, but the kingpins and top drug distributors are not arrested for fear of injury or death if someone testifies against them in court. The situation has come to the point where a potential informant will choose long jail sentences that are often followed by deportation over a lighter sentence earned by ratting on his/her supplier. I have witnessed this many times. However by snitching,  on the smaller the informant may provide enough that the mandatory minimum sentence will be withdrawn by the district attorney. That is an option for a desperate defendant, which regularly happens because there is a reward given to the snitch defendant. In fact, there is a standard jury instruction to be given to the jury when a jailhouse informant points the finger against the defendant. There are so many snitches that websites using the slogan “snitches get stitches” have been created to scare the informant who turns states evidence. Their pictures and names are posted.

Mexico is the worst example of this. More than 50,000 people have been executed for snitching and being part of a rival gang. They are often tortured first. Stories of beheadings and public displays of dead bodies serve as messages to others who may cooperate with authorities. This can’t happen in the United States of America.

Or can it? In March 2014, Sen. Bob Casey Jr. asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to allocate more resources to help Philadelphia’s district attorney combat witness intimidation in Philadelphia. As of March 14, 188 witness intimidation charges were filed in Philadelphia. That is 60 more than last year. According to the Associated Press, Philadelphia’s district attorney reported that since 2010, when records for intimidation began to be counted, that “more than 3,700 cases have been filed in Philadelphia, ranging from execution-style slayings to court room threats.” (Reading Eagle, March 2014)

We can conclude from our evaluation of the war on drugs that it has been as effective as prohibition;

In other words, the war has failed and only organized crime has prevailed. There is a saying that ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ That saying is applicable to the intention of identifying and prosecuting the top drug offenders and scaring the others away with tough punishment laws. But little public benefit has been accomplished, while a large pile of bad and ugly desecrates our cities, the justice system and prisons; Many logical facts leads one to conclude it just lies these stinking to high heavens.  You be the judge.