DECRIMINALIZING DRUGS WOULD BE MAJOR MISTAKE

It is frequently claimed that the war on drugs, like America's failed
experiment in prohibition in the early 20th century, is misguided,
unwise and unwinnable and that those who use illicit drugs chiefly
harm themselves.

Society would be better served, the argument goes, if such activities
were largely decriminalized.

And yet the recent shooting deaths of two men in downtown Kingsport
provide a vivid and timely example of the insidious nexus of drugs and
violence that society ignores at its collective peril.

Jeffrin L. Nolan, 27, of Quail Ridge Road, Johnson City, the owner of
Sole, a candle and incense shop, and Terrence D. Alexander, 21, of
Leland Drive, Kingsport, both arrested earlier this year on separate
drug charges, were found in a backroom of the downtown business with
gunshots to their heads. Nolan was pronounced dead at the scene;
Alexander died two days later at Holston Valley Medical Center.

One of two double-murder suspects, Osheene Deyoung "Rah" Massey, 24,
was captured last week in Carter County. His alleged accomplice,
Octavia Patrice Brooks, 23, who lived with Massey in Piney Flats, is
still being sought by police.

Investigators note that Nolan was arrested this past summer for
selling cocaine and Alexander was arrested during a traffic stop in
August for possession of cocaine.

Those who advocate decriminalizing drug use point to the vast amount
of money expended in the cause of prosecuting and incarcerating
individuals that they argue could be better spent on drug treatment.
While addicts certainly need - and receive - treatment, it is
dangerously naive, even illogical, to believe that most addicts will
not engage in yet other forms of criminal behavior to feed that addiction.

Police in any community know that a significant share of all crimes
are ultimately traceable - either directly or indirectly - to illicit
drugs. In most metropolitan areas the bulk of property crimes ranging
from purse-snatching to home burglaries and shoplifting are
perpetrated by addicts desperate to finance their drug habits.
Similarly, drug addiction is often the unseen impetus behind
prostitution, robbery and murder.

While critics often claim that the war on drugs has been a largely
futile one, statistics belie that assertion. Government studies show
that illegal drug use peaked in America in 1979 and has declined by
more than 46 percent since.

Over that same period, use of alcohol - a legally available drug - has
only declined one percent. Indeed, such a comparison amply
demonstrates the obvious efficacy of the oft-derided prohibition
paradigm. If cocaine and heroin had been decriminalized a quarter of a
century ago, the number of addicts presently in its thrall - and
consequently the crime that followed in its wake - would have risen
exponentially, rather than decline as Justice Department figures show.

High levels of illicit drug use go hand in hand with higher crime
levels generally.

Seeking out this animating cause of a significant share of crime is
not an easy task, as area law enforcement knows only too well. Doing
so in spite of the difficulties, however, is not only prudent, but
imperative.