Thursday, August 23, 2012

2012 Drug War Killings Reach 45 This Week

The organization StoptheDrugWar.com tracks the number of Americans each year who are casualties of America's War on Drugs Peaceful Americans Who Use Intoxicants Not Currently Approved of by the Government, Who Might Break Into Your House and Kill You While Executing a Search Warrant if They Suspect You of Possessing or Distributing a Weed That Grows Naturally Everywhere and Was Smoked Regularly by President Obama. 

That's basically what happened to Wendell Allen, 20, of New Orleans, who was a small-time distributor of marijuana and was shot and killed during a drug raid in March by a police officer who was indicted this week on manslaughter charges.  Wendell Allen was unarmed and became this year's Drug War Casualty No. 15. 

More recently, an Iowa City man was shot and killed during an undercover drug operation this week, bringing the total number of Drug War Killings this year to 45.

Related: Roughly 48% of the inmates in federal prisons (almost 93,000) are serving jail sentences for drug offenses.  

HT: Jacob Sullum

6 Comments:

At 8/23/2012 8:09 PM, Blogger Benjamin Cole said...

Time to legalize all drugs yes.

However, a worry: Since the USA began aggressive incarceration about 20 years back, we have seen radical reductions in crime rates. Crime rates are lowering than the 1960s in Los Angeles, for example.

It could be that people in the drug industry are seeking an "easy" way to make money, as profits are fat if risky.

Sans easy money from drugs, but left out in the streets, they would turn back to violent crime to make money.

The USA is doing something right in driving crime rates down for 20 years running. Incarceration seems to be th key.

I wish there was a better alternative.

 
At 8/23/2012 9:51 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"Time to legalize all drugs yes"...

Time for pseudo benny to change his posture...

Time for them to legalize all mobile food vendors regardless of sanitary conditions or dishonesty in their menus: Apparent Beef Between Food Cart Vendors Leads To Wild Shootout Near Yankee Stadium
Witness: Argument Over A Spot Results In Bullets Flying, 2 Wounded, 1 Arrested

 
At 8/23/2012 10:55 PM, Blogger Charles Platt said...

"Incarceration seems to be th key." You are ignoring countless other factors, demographic shift in particular. Also the experience in New York where crime rate continued to fall even after sentencing became more lenient. Also the fact that every other country in the world imprisons a smaller percentage of its citizens, yet many nations have lower crime rates than the US.

 
At 8/24/2012 1:51 AM, Blogger PeakTrader said...

People who think Obama is doing a good job on the economy must be on drugs.

 
At 8/24/2012 5:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

juan,

Time for them to legalize all mobile food vendors regardless of sanitary conditions or dishonesty in their menus

Your intended sarcasm fails due to the myth embedded in your sarcasm: that regulators care more about sanitary conditions and can monitor this better than the people who actually patronize the vendors and eat the food.

And I notice that your linked article has NOTHING to do with sanitary conditions, but was a turf war. I guess when your argument is weak you'll link to anything and hope people won't notice the idiocy of your argument and your link.

 
At 8/25/2012 9:42 AM, Blogger juandos said...

"And I notice that your linked article has NOTHING to do with sanitary conditions, but was a turf war blah, blah, & blah"...

ken don't you think its about time for you to move out of your mom's basement and into the real world?

If you think those two 'legal' food vendors weren't having a 'turf war' then you're totally untethered to reality lad...

 

Post a Comment

<< Home