Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jul 2000
Source: Clarion-Ledger, The (MS)
Copyright: 2000 The Clarion-Ledger
Address: P.O. Box 40 Jackson, MS 39205-0400
Fax: (601) 961-7211
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Website: http://www.clarionledger.com/
Author: Eric Stringfellow

DRUG KINGPINS? HARDLY; BUREAU NEEDS NEW PLAN

A few summers ago, I spent an afternoon cutting down a giant plant
that my mother dear once thought was cute.

It had become an ugly burden.

This plant had overtaken a corner of her house -- so tall that it
reached the roof.

When I finished, I thought the plant was dead, gone. We could again
see the corner of my mother's house.

Oddly, the plant returned.

And it grew just as tall.

My brother-in-law chopped it down the last time, and I hope my
brother's turn is next.

We'll probably continue to chase our tails on this project until we
try a new approach.

This plant will continue to replicate until we dig out its root.
Otherwise, we will continue to saw it down every other summer.

The plant with nine lives came to mind last week when I read about the
two "kingpins" arrested by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN).

Don't believe the hype.

WEARY OF HYPE

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate all of law enforcement and what they
do.

It's a noble public service.

It's just that I am weary of its approach to drug-fighting and the
spin that comes with it.

I am weary of law enforcement giving the illusion of fighting a drug
war with news conferences announcing major arrests when, in fact, all
it is doing is chasing its tail.

For example, the Bureau of Narcotics' claims that Johnny Earl Course
and Johann Jones are two of Jackson's "major narcotics violators."

Don't believe the hype.

Yes, officiers seized more than 10 pounds of cocaine with a potential
value of $1.3 million.

Nice job. Good work.

But these guys grow like kudzu.

The sad reality is that there are probably 20 guys waiting in line to
fill the void.

And that's assuming these guys remain in jail long enough to disrupt
their operations. Based on their criminal histories, that may be a
weak assumption. Drug sales in the metro area didn't miss a beat.

Why?

Because these guys at most are sales managers. Certainly they are not
"kingpins."

The real kingpins are the people who supplied them the 10 pounds and
their suppliers. When are we going to arrest some of those characters?

ILLUSION AND SPIN

Several months back, Ron Pitts, the MBN's assistant director of
operations, called Jackson a hub for cocaine distribution.

Pitts also seemed to acknowledge that his agency has been focused on
the "small fish."

Here's the illusion and spin.

To say that Jackson is a hub for cocaine distribution could be
misleading if you don't tell the rest of the story.

As Pitts points out, it's easier to blend into some of Jackson's
impoverished areas than it is into Belhaven.

The rest of the story is that most of the customers are people who
don't live in Jackson.

Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, is
more blunt.

It found that nearly twice as many people of color are being
imprisoned for drug offenses as white people, even though studies show
that there are five times more white drug users than black ones.

Sounds like the rules need adjusting.

As MBN works to cure its administrative woes, let's hope it also
examines its strategy for fighting the drug war.

We are dizzy from watching the agency chase its tail.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens