OPEN-AIR MARKET SHOWS 'WAR ON DRUGS' IS ONE-SIDED

The latest flap over open-air drug dealing in Milwaukee reminded me of a
scene from the classic movie "Casablanca."

You know the one where nightclub-casino owner Rick (Humphrey Bogart) finds
out local law enforcement authorities want to squeeze him out of business.

Rick Blaine: How can you close me up? On what grounds?

Captain Louis Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going
on in here!"

(At that point, the croupier hands Renault a pile of money, saying: "Your
winnings, sir.")

Captain Louis Renault: Oh, thank you very much. Everybody out at once!"

Residents in Metcalfe Park are steamed Milwaukee police haven't managed to
stop drug dealers selling cocaine in an alley in their community. At a
recent public meeting, an agitated crowd complained that numerous requests
for more police presence went unheeded.

The mayor of Milwaukee chimed in, saying no resident should have to put up
with drugs being sold openly in the community.

Which makes you wonder where he's been the last 15 or so years.

There have been open-air drug markets on the north side of Milwaukee at
least that long, selling everything from marijuana to crack cocaine.

Neighbors know about it, cops know about it, even little children who live
in the area know about it. But there's a reason why it's so hard to stop.

Drug dealers aren't stupid - they may be morally depraved, but not stupid.
They understand it's not a good idea to do business while cops are around,
so they usually wait until they're not.

They also know enough not to keep the drugs on their person, usually opting
to hide a package nearby. Even more insidious, most drug dealers understand
the legal system so intimately, they are keenly aware of age limits for
prosecution.

Which explains why minors are recruited to handle the selling and transfer
of illegal drugs. When these young boys get arrested, they may face
juvenile penalties, but they won't do hard time.

But the main reason this sort of drug dealing is so hard to stop is that
it's an industry fueled by the law of supply and demand.

As long as people want drugs and the escape from reality they bring,
they'll find a place to buy them.

And the buyers will come from everywhere, as evidenced by the Journal
Sentinel article that noted license plates from all over the metropolitan
area queuing up in the open-air market in Metcalfe Park.

Sure, it's an African-American neighborhood, and the majority of the
sellers are young black men. But the customers are a rainbow coalition of
drug addicts - black, white and brown.

It's just more evidence how this so-called war on drugs is totally one-sided.

Mostly White Users

The majority of illegal drug users in America are white, more than 77%,
according to a respected study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

African-Americans make up 15% of all users, and Hispanics 8%.

Yet, blacks - who make up 14% of the population - account for 21% of all
drug arrests nationally. Part of that is the way the so-called war on drugs
has disproportionately affected black America, effectively removing large
numbers of young black men from their communities to serve prison time for
mostly non-violent crimes - for being good capitalists, you might even say.

At the same time, tax-paying citizens have the right to demand police
protection from illegal activities. Which might be the strongest argument
for the legalization of drugs; it might be the only way to stop these
open-air drug markets.

Many will concede alcohol and tobacco can be just as destructive as many
illegal drugs. Yet, there's no hidden alley where you can pull up and buy a
pack of smokes and a pint of liquor. There's no money in that. We already
have plenty of regulated places of business where you can buy your own poison.

Many remain vehemently opposed to any legalization of drugs. Yet, it's
becoming more and more clear, it's time to take a hard look at the
selective nature of many anti-drug efforts.

Drug Policies Questioned

Marc Mauer, assistant director of the Washington, D.C.-based criminal
justice policy group - The Sentencing Project - has long decried the
scenario in which police and politicians target some urban neighborhoods
for increased scrutiny instead of suburban communities where just as many
illegal drugs are used.

In his new book "The Race to Incarcerate," Mauer asks serious questions
about the impact of both race and class on current drug policies:

"Are police arresting crack and cocaine users in general or preferentially
going into black neighborhoods where some people are using these drugs?

"Conducting drug arrests in inner-city neighborhoods does have advantage
for law enforcement. First, it is easier to make arrests in such areas,
since drug dealing is more likely to take place in open air-markets.

"In contrast, drug dealing in suburban neighborhoods almost invariably
takes place behind closed doors and is therefore not readily identifiable
to passing police.

"Second, because both drug use and dealing are more likely to take place
openly, residents in African-American neighborhoods are more likely to
complain about these behaviors and to ask for police intervention.

"Since law enforcement has long been accused of failing to respond to
problems of minority neighborhoods in a timely manner, many police
departments are now more focused on attempting to remedy this problem - so
they are likely to respond to complaints emanating from these neighborhoods."

Mauer could have been talking about Metcalfe Park, but he's talking about
any number of large urban cities. Which just goes to show, we're not alone
in this.

Not by a long shot.

The "Casablanca" reference isn't to suggest Milwaukee police officers look
the other way when it comes to open-air drug markets in this city.

Rather, just like the gambling in "Casablanca," the presence of these
markets is an indictment of society's unwillingness to come up with a
substantive policy to address the failure to control illegal drug use in
almost every American community.

Until the dirty dealing comes to your backyard.