Comments about ‘'I almost got murdered that night,' injured officer testifies’

If the law enforcement approach to the use of illegal drugs worked, then it would be worth pursuing, however it doesn't work. At the state and local level throwing drug pushers into prison, opens their markets to new pushers, and costs a lot of money in police time and prisons. The supply of pushers never ends. At the federal level, all the money we spend keeping the stuff out, doesn't work either, we do catch a steady supply of drug runners, but these just get replaced and the drugs keep coming in.

Given that this approach doesn't work, what does work? Why don't I (for example) or you take illegal drugs? If you are like me, you don't take them because you have been taught that they are destructive, they degrade life. Education does work for most people, it worked for me.

Given that we are as a state and a nation short of money, I suggest we discontinue or at least tone down the law enforcement approach to the drug problem. At the same time, let us ensure that every young person, is taught, illegal drugs will degrade your quality of life.

@cjb, if your next door neighbor was producing illegal drugs in his home, I bet you'd welcome some police intervention. I can accept that prison may not be the best way to deal with drug addicts, and I can agree that education is important, but there is absolutely a role for law enforcement in dealing with the drug problem.

The Other Half Of The Plan

Put government in competition with the producers and the sellers and put them out of business.

Let clinics legally administer what are now illegal drugs to People. Let these clinics be a boring and sterile place, Not a place that would attract non users. Let these clinics also offer counciling and treatment. This would pull the rug out of the illegal drug industry. This would also make it less likely that people would start the habit in the first place, because there wouldn't be pushers to distribute drugs at parties (this plan would put pushers out of business).

Again, given that what we have been trying hasn't worked for decades, let's try something new. Here is a well thought out plan with a high degree of probability that it WOULD lower illegal drug use and woud save boat loads of money on law enforcement and prisons.

Cjb and On the other hand, both good points. There is a third alternative and that is to allow for the legal possession of any drug but severely punish the misuse of a drug. As a society, I don't think we have the stomach for this option. The only thing that ever works is to remove the demand.

So, the police servants busted into this guy's home - guns drawn, (was it at night? I don't know) and are claiming one of their own was "murdered"? I don't think that's the term I'd use. I think they initiated this entire stupid mess. What if they had... Come back again during the day (again, I apologize if this was during the day) or later, knocked on the door, and explained the problem when the guy opened the door? Or, perhaps waited until the guy was gone before busting in. I can easily think of a dozen better ways to have handled this.