CHANGE NEEDED IN WAR ON DRUGS

NEARLY A decade ago, then-Circuit Judge Kenneth Lavon Johnson questioned
why the focus of the war on drugs in Baltimore City was not on the upper
echelon of the drug trafficking business, the importer- wholesaler.

Since then, only one year has passed in which the murder rate in
Baltimore City did not exceed 300. Most of these killings are believed
to be related to the illegal drug industry. Our criminal justice systems
are flooded with arrests of lower-level street dealers and addicts. As a
result, the correctional facilities struggle to house the
ever-increasing numbers of these small-time drug defendants.

This long-standing strategy has begun to come under fire. Neighborhoods
are in decline and quality-of-life issues abound. People are afraid to
leave their homes or let children go out to play. Random violence and
the proliferation of shootings are almost daily headlines.

So it is no surprise that great numbers of our citizens continue to
leave the city. Myriad businesses have been reluctant to come to
Baltimore because of the issues the drug problems have generated as well
as the perceptions that follow from them.

Another concern that cannot be overlooked is the racial impact of our
drug problem. Analyzing U.S. Justice Department figures and Human Rights
Watch documents, the gross disparity between the imprisonment of blacks
and whites for drug offenses is very evident. Blacks, who make up 12
percent of the population, account for 62 percent of incarcerated drug
offenders.

The myth that blacks use drugs more frequently is easily dispelled. A
study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has found
black and white rates of drug use to be quite similar, with far more
white than black drug use overall.

These shocking arrest rates have a devastating effect on the community.
Many black men are unemployable because of long arrest and conviction
records. Large segments of the community are disenfranchised,
eliminating many political concerns. Not only has the drug epidemic
affected the black community, it has adversely affected the city.

As a Circuit Court judge, I have presided over Drug Court for several
terms during the last few years. I have seen much time, effort and money
devoted to focusing on low-level street activity. Very little, if
anything, has changed in the last nine years. Perhaps Judge Johnson was
correct when he labeled the war on drugs as "mostly eyewash."

At a neighborhood forum at which I appeared a while ago with elected
officials, one official acknowledged that the lack of resources
prevented expanding law enforcement efforts to truly launch a war on
drugs. Priorities must be rearranged if we intend to broaden our
approach. The cost of incarceration is tremendous when compared to
treatment and prevention.

Unless the law enforcement community has the resources it needs, we will
have to settle for business as usual; that is not satisfactory. After 20
years with simply more of the same, I think change is warranted.

We cannot forgo reclaiming neighborhoods. Our communities cannot be left
to fend for themselves against this heinous drug subculture. All of our
citizens deserve the same assurances in their daily lives as anyone in
any of the outlying suburbs or counties.

However, we must take serious measures to broaden the scope of our
approach.

Until the economics of illegal drugs is understood and becomes
aggressively pursued by law enforcement, we will continue to see limited
progress, if any.

All branches of government, the clergy, law enforcement and those in the
world of academia need to begin a meaningful dialogue on alternatives to
past efforts. A new strategy is desperately needed to effect positive
and immediate change if we intend to rescue Baltimore City from its
rapid demise.