Homeless in Arizona

In this editorial, retired Mesa cop Bill Richardson seems to confirm my view that the "War on Drugs" is a full employment jobs program for cops.

Oddly Mesa Police Officer Bill Richardson fails to mention the across the nation, cops arrest more people for victimless drug war crimes then they arrest for all real crimes with victims combined. Crimes such as fraud, theft, robbery, burglary and assault.

As law enforcement weakened and refocused, these once highly successful efforts were dissolved or minimized, making it that much easier for illegal drugs to be sold and for the dope peddlers to escape detection and prosecution.

[That sounds like rubbish, according to police statistics more people are arrested for victimless drug war crimes, than real crimes that hurt people]

We're too focused on catching big fish For far too long the focus of law enforcement has been on the “big bust” and large seizures of assets, especially cash.

[Rubbish!!! Most of the arrests for drugs are for simple possession of an illegal drug. If I remember correctly something like 80% of the people in Federal and state prisons are there for simple possession of an illegal drug. Not sales, smuggling or manufacture of drugs. Cops go after the low hanging fruit, and that's arresting people for simple possession of an illegal drug.]

Bill Richardson also demonizes drugs as causing crime, when in fact it's the laws against drugs that cause the crime.

If illegal drugs did not sell at outrageously high black market prices, very few people would steal to obtain drugs. Drugs would be as affordable as a six pack of beer or a pack of cigarettes.

And re-legalizing all drugs would reduce those insane black market prices, so people would not be stealing or committing other crimes to get their drugs.

And last but not least, Bill Richardson calls for making the "War on Drugs" an even bigger jobs program for cops. And of course jailing more people for victimless drug war crimes, which is a jobs program for prison guards.

This statement is completely false. The police focus a huge amount of their efforts on arresting people for victimless drug war crimes and the "War on Drugs" has been a dismal failure for the last 100 years.

Without aggressive law enforcement the opioid problem will never shrink to any degree.

The only way to win the "War on Drugs" is to end the "War on Drugs" and completely legalize all drugs.

For more on that check out the RAD initiative to re-legalize all drugs:

http://relegalize.100webspace.net/facebook_lh.html

Source

Your Turn: Want to stop the opioid epidemic? Don't be so soft on small-time dealers

Bill Richardson, opinion contributor Published 6:33 a.m. MT Jan. 31, 2018

Former detective: If we want to make a dent in the opioid epidemic, we need to put street dealers in jail. But nobody's talking about that.

Opiate-based drugs, illegal and legal, are wreaking havoc in Arizona. Lots of talk and demand for action. But what’s missing from the emotional and political discussion is an objective discussion about effective and aggressive law enforcement.

No one is talking about the need to go after the street dealers, even if they’re addicts selling drugs to support their own addiction.

When an addict can no longer get legally manufactured drugs through pharmaceutical and medical sources, the “pusher man” is there to fill the need.

We're too focused on catching big fish For far too long the focus of law enforcement has been on the “big bust” and large seizures of assets, especially cash. Big press conferences with law enforcement officials and politicians taking a bow and boasting of their accomplishment has done nothing to slow the growing problem of narcotics on the streets.

Much of the current focus has been on the abuse of the system by pharmaceutical giants, doctors and pharmacists, but the selling of opiates at the street level is also driving the overdose and crime problems.

Addicts steal and commit crime to survive. All the talk about treatment, education, data collection and Narcan is all well and good, but what is the city, county and state government doing about arresting the purveyors of the poison where many addicts get the drug that forces them into crime and maybe an early grave?

Not very much, from what I’m told by cops and prosecutors.

Arizona once set the gold standard for statewide law enforcement that targeted crooked doctors, pharmacists and street dealers and much of it was coordinated with city and county law enforcement agencies. Statewide data was collected on drug arrests and activity. Not anymore.

Jailed addicts aren't committing crimes As law enforcement weakened and refocused, these once highly successful efforts were dissolved or minimized, making it that much easier for illegal drugs to be sold and for the dope peddlers to escape detection and prosecution.

With the state Legislature’s fixation on immigration enforcement and propping up politically popular and powerful sheriffs became their number one priority, it left a huge hole in statewide drug enforcement.

It’s time for law enforcement to once again focus on those who prey on the innocent.

Local law enforcement is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to addict-driven street crime. When addicts are in jail or submitting to treatment, they’re not committing crimes against you and me. Crime drops and people are safer. It’s that simple.

Let the county attorney and adult probation sort out the sentence and rehabilitation. That’s not the job of the police! Police put criminals in jail.

The state Legislature needs to once again make being under the influence of a narcotic a crime that requires confinement and treatment. It was on the books for years and worked. They need to change the narcotics laws like they did the meth laws 10 years ago.

Without aggressive law enforcement the opioid problem will never shrink to any degree.

Bill Richardson is a retired Mesa police detective. Email him at bill.richardson1@mac.com