FIND A BETTER WAY TO REDUCE DRUG USE

On Friday morning, police were led to the body of Rachel Hoffman, a
23-year-old graduate of Florida State University and Tallahassee's
latest casualty in Richard Nixon's antiquated "War On Drugs." Many
would like to dismiss this tragedy as another druggie losing the war
or just plain happenstance, but to do so would be to ignore the role
our state and law enforcement played in this poor girl's death.

Rachel Hoffman did not die because of her entanglement in the dark
world of drugs. She died because her entanglement in that world led
her to accept a bargain she should never have taken.

As the story goes, police caught Rachel speeding and in possession of
25 grams of marijuana - a dumb thing for Rachel to have had. Police
seized upon her arrest to use her as a pawn in their efforts to "clean
up Tallahassee's streets." To have her charges lessened, she agreed to
help TPD in a sting operation.

TPD did this because of the legal system's prioritization of stopping
drug offenses - the same priority that gives our country the highest
incarceration rate in the world. The police employ a policy of putting
civilians in the way of the bullets to "help reduce" marijuana usage.
It is time we ask ourselves how many more people have to die over this
drug before we think of more creative ways to deal with the issue.

I'm saddened that a friend is dead because of exploitative police
practices, and if a serious public debate is not started over this
issue it is only a matter of time before the city experiences another
Rachel Hoffman.

Alex Rivas