MURDER SPREE SHOULD PROMPT DRUG TALK

This past week, four people were shot and killed in Mattapan. As of
today, a fifth victim remains hospitalized and on life support.

With the investigation still ongoing, we know little about the
circumstances surrounding the crime. It is clear, however, that this
act of violence was not random.

We will never understand why a person would kill an innocent toddler
- - but we should ask ourselves how it was that this child came into
harm's way. According to coverage in the Boston Globe, the surviving
victim told police that he came to Mattapan to buy marijuana.

If these killings were drug-related, we should demand an open and
honest discussion about our city's drug prevention policies, in
addition to justice for the victims and their families. While city
officials vent about the cowardly nature of the acts and warn about
the danger of guns on our streets, the simplest lesson is being
ignored. Why did Marcus Hurd visit a triple-decker in Mattapan in the
middle of the night? Why was a clandestine drug transaction taking
place around a 2-year-old? If we want to get marijuana off of our
streets - and away from schools, homes and children - we should
put it in stores, as we already do with alcohol and nicotine.

Governments cannot save us from every danger; and sometimes, in
attempting to do so, they cause more harm than good. The people of
Boston are ready for sensible solutions to drug and violence problems.
We can't afford to wait for the federal government to learn what the
people already know. Drug laws have failed to lower addiction rates,
have filled our courts and jails with non-violent offenders, and are
destroying families and neighborhoods. We don't need more bluster,
and we don't need more laws. We need local leaders who will speak
the truth and work tirelessly for reform.

Sean Ryan

Candidate for Boston City Council, District 6