THE BUSINESS OF DEALING DRUGS

When Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist got wind of a university study that
characterized the young people who deal drugs in his city as hard-working
entrepreneurs chasing the American dream, he was furious. It's easy to
understand why. The drug trade in Milwaukee is the source of violence and
social distress, as it is in other big cities. Those who control it and
benefit from it hardly deserve praise.

But the insight into the nature of the drug trade offered by criminologist
John Hagedorn at the University of Illinois at Chicago ought not be
dismissed so easily. Indeed it should be taken seriously by those looking
for solutions to an urban phenomenon that has frustrated the best efforts
of law enforcement.

Hagedorn examined the drug trade last year in two low-income Milwaukee
neighborhoods--one predominantly African-American, one predominantly
Latino. With help from former gang members, he discovered a well-organized,
innovative enterprise--albeit an illegal one--that in many ways resembled
the operations of legitimate small businesses. The young, mostly male
dealers worked hard for rather modest incomes--at least in relation to the
Hollywood stereotype of Mercedes-Benz driving dealers--which ranged from
$1,000 to $5,000 a month. Even the violent aspect of the drug trade had
diminished through the balancing out of competitive forces--the result, in
effect, of the gangs' own version of profit-and-loss analysis.

Hagedorn, whose 30-page report was published in June by the politically
conservative Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, does not glamorize the
drug trade. Rather, he offers evidence that the young people involved are
motivated not so much by a desire to do evil as by a desire to make a
buck--and that many have become quite adept at it.

Community advocates have long argued that providing legitimate job
opportunities in neighborhoods where unemployment is high is essential to
luring youths away from the drug culture. Hagedorn's work suggests
entrepreneurship is one thing drug dealers might gravitate toward and excel
at.

That has been the observation of Brian Jenkins, vice president for the
Chicago division of KidsWay Inc., an Atlanta-based organization that
teaches entrepreneurial skills to youths.

Jenkins has been training African-American and Latino teenagers since 1994
to run their own businesses. This past week he led a five-day seminar at
DePaul University's Loop campus for mostly inner-city kids identified by
churches and youth agencies in Chicago and Gary, Ind.

Jenkins says young people who have experience in the street drug trade
typically catch on quickly to the principles of running a business. They
tend to have a keen understanding of such principles as supply and demand,
marketing, pricing, accounting, even the importance of proper attire. They
also possess an acute entrepreneurial spirit, Jenkins says, including a
greater willingness to take risk and a strong desire to work for
themselves.

None of that makes drug dealers angels. The criminal nature of what they do
must continue to be confronted by the police. But the one-dimensional
strategy of rounding them up and locking them away has barely dented the
problem. Creative approaches are in order. One of them may be to capitalize
on the very skills dealers have learned in the course of plying their
illegal trade.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)