From Harford Council Member Mike Perrone, Jr.:
HarfordNEXT, Our Quality of Life, and the Drug Trade
On June 21, the County Council passed our HarfordNEXT Master Plan, and I want to share some comments I made at the end of the meeting that go straight to the very heart of the quality of life in so many of our communities.
I am sure the number of government planning documents throughout this country that reference this issue at all are few and far between, but the issue is literally a matter of life and death for some people, and so the issue needs to be raised. The issue to which I am referring is the drug trade.
Before I begin, I don’t think there is a single reasonable person out there who wouldn’t acknowledge that drugs are a problem. But to conceive of the “drug problem” as a single monolithic dynamic is to misunderstand the problem completely. The “drug problem” is in reality two problems, which do damage in very different ways. These two problems are drug use and the drug trade.
Most everyone seems keen on the problems associated with drug use. Our awareness of the gravity of the heroin epidemic speaks to this. As countless people whose lives have been harmed by heroin use can attest to, drug use is a problem that can affect anyone. Nobody is immune.
There are no safe places – either in a physical or an emotional sense – where we can go to take shelter from this scourge. I think this is why our awareness level of the problem of drug use is so high.
But what about the drug trade? How aware are we of the nature and severity of the problems caused by this scourge? Unlike drug use, it’s pretty easy to escape and ignore the problems caused by the drug trade. If you’re fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood where drugs aren’t being dealt, you can pretty much avoid and ignore the entire problem.
But what if you aren’t that fortunate? I could point out to you a number of dwelling units in District A where drugs are or have been dealt out of. And of course, these dwellings are occupied by criminals, because our federal drug policy has ensured that drugs will be sold by criminals. (Contrast that with alcohol, which is sold by peaceful, law-abiding citizens who operate legitimate businesses.) What if it was you who lives next door to one of these dwelling units? What if it was you who feels like a prisoner in your own home and is afraid to go outside after dark? What if it was you who lives in a state of perpetual fear for the lives and future of your children, because you know that as strong and spiritually guided as your parenting efforts may be, the toxic influence of gangsters in the neighborhood is just too much to overcome?
This is the reality millions of innocent people – our brothers and sisters – face in this country because of our completely misguided federal drug policy. What is so mind boggling about this entire issue is that – a little over 100 years ago we tried prohibition the first time, and it didn’t work! It may have taken us 13 years to realize it didn’t work, but at least we figured it out. Why have we not figured it out this time around??? We are more than 50 years into this second round of prohibition, and yet we continue to fight this symbolic battle on the premise that what…making drugs illegal somehow stems their use? Makes them harder to obtain? Whether we like it or not, there are certain elements of human nature that we can’t merely legislate away.
I’m sure there are some people out there who might not have chosen to experiment with drugs in today’s environment who otherwise may have in an environment where drug use is legal. But I have to believe that this number of people is incredibly small because…how could it not be? If you know anyone with an addictive personality or if you have ever struggled with addiction yourself, then you understand the power of that need to self-medicate. And you know that when the need is that strong, mere nuances like “legal” and “illegal” don’t mean anything.
As long as we continue to force the drug trade into the hands of criminals who operate out of residential neighborhoods, nothing in HarfordNEXT or any other master plan is going to be able to lift our blighted communities out of poverty. We as a country (or our own State if we saw fit to assert our rights under the Tenth Amendment) could choose to have drugs sold legally by law -abiding citizens in a regulated environment where public and mental health providers have real tools at their disposal to fight these epidemics because – if for no other reason, we now have billions of dollars that we are no longer wasting on futile enforcement efforts. This money could instead be spent on treatment, or given back to the taxpayers who earned it in the first place. THIS COULD BE OUR REALITY. But instead, we have locked millions of our brothers and sisters in generational cycles of poverty and violence by turning our backs and pretending that we don’t understand why it is that destitute communities remain destitute. We respond to events like the riots in Baltimore City from last year as if there is some sinister element at work in human nature which is somehow growing more sinister. That isn’t the case at all. When we show someone the American dream but make it clear to them that they may never partake in the dream because our policies have made their neighborhoods a living hell, we have failed them.
When we send our police, fire, and EMS providers into environments where the risk of harm they face goes beyond situational risk to the culture of violence that the drug trade propagates, we have failed our first responders too.
Our government is losing the war on drugs.
Our communities are losing the war on drugs.
Our first responders are losing the war on drugs.
Our health and human service providers are losing the war on drugs.
Taxpayers are losing the war on drugs.
EVERYONE is losing the war on drugs.
To me, our course of action seems pretty clear. I’ve been having this conversation with people for a long time, and I know how the usual rebuttals to this argument go. So what I would say to anyone who is inclined to write this argument off as nonsense or craziness is that before you do, go rent a townhouse in Edgewater Village… or West Baltimore. Go live in the battlegrounds of the war that you are so intent on waging. And don’t just go and live there yourself, take your family. Go and try to raise your children and grandchildren in a community where you have to contemplate the possibility of stray bullets every time you and your loved ones leave the house.
Then see if you don’t change your mind.
Wow, it seems someone may have been listening. It’s time to end the government’s war on the American people that is disguised as the war on drugs. Far too long have the people been demonized, scrutinized and ostracized for their want to use a drug other than the legally obtained ones available at your local liquor stores. Everyone needs to be aware of the evils this war has caused. The divide amongst all of us who just long to do what the hell we want to do. However, this is just a myth. The government and those who litigate the legal system will never allow it to happen. They have a deep need to punish and destroy those who they say are “criminals”. To try and instill a behavioral change by unfairly and unconstitutionally throwing those individuals into a system of injustice. To profit and wage war on you and your children. Our government, the true enemy of the people…..
Marijuana, sure (and lets be honest….it’s only a matter of time before it’s legalized in MD and eventually the feds will do the same.) Personally, I think it’s disgusting and don’t want it around myself or my family, but I feel pretty much the same way about cigarettes.
But I hope you aren’t suggesting that legalizing cocaine, crack, meth, heroin, pcp, etc is good idea.
Obviously you have a higher regard for the powers that be than myself. I don’t see marijuana ever being legal for recreational purposes in Maryland. It may eventually be legal medically, but lets face it, they’ve been saying medical marijuana is legal in Maryland for quite a number of years now and it still isn’t. Maryland is a state that needs to keep it illegal because they would have no reason to jail a quarter of the population of this state and place them on probation at some point in their lives. The probationary and legal systems need to keep it illegal to keep their jobs. The Law Enforcement won’t know what to do if they can’t go after the “pot” for sport. The Judges will lose their faith in law and order if they can’t throw you in jail for the “ganja”. You need to be realistic. Maryland will be one of the last states to ever legalize marijuana. The criminal justice system needs it illegal to survive…..
Drugs make money for the sheriffs office,, correction facilities and the government in general.
Watch “the war on weed” by weediquette on VICE. Clearly there is tons of money available arresting petty drug users and keeping them in jail for years. For smoking a plant that isn’t tobacco.
Whereas in my entire 30 plus years of law enforcement I do not believe I ever responded to a “weed fight”. Furthermore, I would rather walk in to a room wth 50 people stoned to the bone than a room with 3 disorderly drunks. Especially where you have at least one drunk woman and two or more drunk idiots trying to impress her. With that being said there are still the issues of some foolish person attempting to operate a vehicle while stoned etc. I don’t believe there have been any convincing arguments about marijuana being a gateway drug. I still am not a proponent for legalization. From a law enforcement perspective marijuana legalization would be a critical blow to police and their already difficult job. Probably 90 plus percent of crimes being detected from vehicle stops involved the initial odor of marijuana. An officer stops a car and smells the odor of weed and places the vehicle occupants under arrest. At that point a legal search incident to that arrest can be conducted. These types of situations frequently yield the fruits of other much more serious crimes to include handguns, stolen property, hard drugs, and the list goes on. If it turns out nothing illegal was found the persons could be released. The officer had the probable cause to do what he or she did. In closing I can see and respect the positions on both sides of the issue but for me I say no to legalization. You know the old saying opinions are like butt holes ……..
I can see your objection to operating a vehicle while stoned. ANY type of influence that results in someone NOT driving 100% is not good for the rest of the drivers. However, its already NOT allowable to drive under the influence of ANY drug, medication or alcohol, so that argument is kinda overkill. I do agree with you on that thought…….
Don’t count on current CDS other than Marijuana being “legal.”
Hypothetical, and my guess states will start to decriminalize CDS in some recreational amounts and make it civil penalties like our current state Marijuana law.
Of course the “dealers” the “trafficers” and other large quantities of some defined criminal code will be still against the law.
The goof getting a pat down on the street corner with a little coke in his pocket won’t be wearing handcuffs anymore.
Again, hypothetical and just a guess, but count on it.
Councilman Perrone must be watching the 3rd season of The Wire. (and we all know how well that works out) How can someone say they care about human life and condone legalization of addictive substances? Shame on you Mike Perrone.
Actually, Hamsterdam was making some progress until the ‘Powers that Be:’ Burrell & Rawls blew it up. They treated it like a medical issue, because we all know how well treating it like purely a crime and the War in Drugs has worked.
Whether a person is pro or con your position, Councilman Perrone, kudos for having the guts to at least publically state and stand behind your convictions ( no pun intended).
I don’t understand all the rebarb about legal medical marijuana in this state. An informed person knows that the alkaloid in medical marijuana is different from the psycho-active alkaloid in recreational marijuana.
Medical marijuana (CHC) does not get you high. The THC in recreational marijuana gets you high.
Why is it still “illegal” to have and use medical marijuana in this state where supposedly it is legal to have and use?
It is a world of different from the other stuff.
Hold the train Ali Kat. Most marijuana that is considered “medical” is high in THC. It depends on the illness. Now, I know that you’re talking about CBD strains that are useful for medicating certain illnesses in children. However, White Rhino is the most useful for pain and it is very high in THC. Certain sativa strains are useful on Multiple Sclerosis and seizures, they are also very high in THC. Certain indica strains are so narcotic in their effect that they’ll make you sleep for a day. Please don’t forget that the cancer patients that use marijuana to combat chemotherapy effects and vomiting are also high in THC. CBD strains are not the only plants with medical value. Don’t make that assumption.
You do not start a war that you are not committed to win. You do not continue a losing war.
Win it or surender.
I think it sounds better if you say “You shouldn’t start a war against those who you have sworn to protect and serve”.