When did drug dealing become an OK crime?

The U.S. Justice Department recently announced that it will release 6,000 inmates from federal prisons beginning this month to reduce penalties for “non-violent” drug dealers. Up to 50,000 federal inmates are now eligible for reduced sentences or early release under this new policy. This is the largest one-time release of federal prisoners ever, yet there is no public outcry.

The new policy is being sold as a cost-cutting measure with minimal risk to the public since the offenders are considered “non-violent.” When did drug dealers become non-violent and their crimes of dealing drugs less important to the safety of communities?

The drug dealers in federal prisons are real “bad guys.” The U.S. federal prosecutors aren’t sending some guy selling gram baggies of marijuana to prison. For many years now, federal prosecutions have focused on major drug dealers of ruthless organizations that terrorize communities, kill indiscriminately, and peddle substances that degrade and destroy lives. For example, more than 15 years ago, the entire Central Valley of California, from Redding to Bakersfield, was designated a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The Mexican National Drug Cartels had primary control of the drug distribution networks and were also brazenly operating methamphetamine “super labs,” capable of producing hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine at a time. These were the same guys that cut people’s heads off and hung them from freeway overpasses in Mexico to intimidate potential witnesses and law enforcement. Using Organized Crime / Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) cases, law enforcement and the federal government were able to dismantle many of these groups and their leaders were sent to federal prison. Although violent criminals, most of the convictions were for drug offenses, not violent crimes. As such, under the new federal policy, these guys are now eligible for early release from prison.

What about all the shootings in large cities across our nation? The naive might believe it’s random gun violence. It’s not. Let’s look at the city of Chicago which has been in the news due to skyrocketing homicide rates. According to the Chicago Crime Commission, Chicago has more than 70 different gangs with up to 150,000 gang members. The “Latin Kings” Gang has more than 25,000 members in the city of Chicago alone. Chicago has more gang members than ISIS has fighters in Syria and Iraq and, similar to ISIS, the gangsters are killing a lot of people with no end in sight. The overwhelming majority of these shootings are between gangs fighting over drug “turf.” So what if an innocent bystander gets killed. It’s viewed by the gangs as a cost of doing business. A favorite saying of the dealers is, “it’s all about the Benjamins” ($100 bill).

Let’s look at the impact drug dealing and drug use has on traditional crime rates. Back in 1998, the Office of Drug Control Policy reported that 82 percent of males arrested in New York City tested positive for drugs. In 2004, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that almost 20 percent of all state and federal inmates said they committed their criminal offenses to obtain money for drugs. Drug dealers aren’t just dealing drugs and then trying to kill their competition. Many are actively involved in other criminal activity as well, such as burglary, robbery, and auto theft. It’s not uncommon for law enforcement to arrest a drug dealer one day for dealing drugs and a month later arrest the same guy for committing another serious crime. Drug houses are also a magnet for serious crime. Drug addicts frequent these locations at all hours of the day and night; exchanging stolen property for drugs, selling their bodies for drugs, and worse yet, even pimping their children out to pedophiles in an effort to get the “high” they crave.

Every community and person in the U.S. is paying a high price due to the drug trade and the work of drug dealers; and that price is going up as drug use slowly erodes the social fabric of our nation. According to the Center for Disease Control, more than 100 Americans die of drug overdoses everyday; adding up to 38,000 people each year. Fifty percent of all traffic accidents involve substance abuse (including alcohol). The National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence reported that substance abuse exists in up to 80 percent of families in which children are abused. The majority of domestic violence cases involve substance abuse. In addition, there are approximately 5 million visits to hospital emergency rooms that are related to drug use each year.

Drug dealers are comparable to big tobacco companies. They prey upon human frailty, looking to provide a substance that takes away human qualities and contributes to so much sorrow and heartache in our society. The sooner dealers can get young people using drugs, the sooner they have a regular customer who is dependent on them and the drug. Ask anyone who has had a family member become dependent or addicted to drugs. Once dependent on drugs, the battle to get better can be a life long endeavor. Yes, the drug dealers are looking for life long customers; except that the life of the customer, their family, and society suffers. So when did drug dealing become not a serious crime?

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Wade Engelson served in the U.S. Marine Corps before embarking on a 20-year career in law enforcement. During that time he held a number of challenging assignments, including SWAT entry team leader, undercover narcotics work, and as commander of the Special Investigation Bureau with the Fresno Police Department. Wade retired as Deputy Chief of Police with the Vacaville Police Department.

Wade has a bachelor’s degree in business and economics; a master’s degree in public administration; and a doctorate in educational leadership. He has taught at community colleges, the university level, and has written several articles that have been published in professional and academic journals.