My friend (and a friend to anyone interested in justice) Kathy Jennings is Delaware’s attorney general, and she is doing a fine job.
However, I have a suggestion for you, Kathy. You should vociferously urge an end to America’s disastrous “war on drugs,” and you should urge your fellow attorneys general to do the same. Why? Because it makes sense.
It will vastly reduce crime, save lives and save governments tons of money. I recently read something about Dover’s gun violence. I have read many such articles, often written by well-intentioned relatives of a victim of the senseless tidal wave of violence caused by the storm of our “war on drugs,” all the wrong answers to actually ebb the violence.
They offer valid suggestions: Improve the neighborhoods, provide meaningful incentives for a productive life (more jobs) and other cultural changes. They note the availability of the ANGEL Program, established when I introduced one of our former chiefs of police to it several years ago. It offers a safe haven and effective treatment — not arrest — for anyone seeking help to kick drugs. Though successful in other states, it has had a pitiful reception here.
But, as Portugal and other jurisdictions have proven, the real solution is to end the “war on drugs.” Most street violence is drug-related. We are losing our youth to the streets, and so it will be when one can earn more than $1,000 selling drugs on the corner over the weekend versus working for a month at a fast-food joint.
Oregon recently decriminalized possession of small amounts of all drugs … a wise first step.
Six-year-old children slain by a stray bullet. A 6-year-old! Americans have been bombarded and brainwashed with false information about this topic for more than 40 years, so it will take officials like you educating them about the facts to bring about the needed changes. I dare say that taking a very public stance on this issue is the single best way to greatly improve our justice system!
(I sent this to Kathy, and her response was, in part: “I am in favor of legalizing marijuana, which is a critical step in Delaware.” She doesn’t yet get it about decriminalizing all drugs, but she is a smart lady; in time, she will!)
I close with my favorite quote: “Alcohol did not create Al Capone; Prohibition created Al Capone.”
Ken Abraham
Dover
Former deputy attorney general
