Yesterday a 14-year-old boy was one of nine people arrested over an ongoing drug supply operation between Sydney and Dubbo.
Of course none of the media mentioned it is prohibition itself that makes it possible for a 14-year-old to be involved in an industry that by definition is run by criminals with no regulation applied or enforced. This unfortunate situation was, as usual, associated with the drugs and not the prohibitionist frame which makes it possible. Truly, the harms of prohibition are worse than the harms of the drugs.
Police are proud of their bust, offering video and still pics of the arrests to media.
Meanwhile the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) reports that drug seizures have reached record highs (so to speak). The Australian reports "a record number of cocaine arrests and a doubling of heroin seizures in 2008-09 suggests that hard drugs are more readily available."
This is yet more evidence that the decades-old War on Drugs is not working.
But that's not how ACC chief executive John Lawler put it.
"The illicit drug trade feeds drug habits, which in turn leads to more crime in a destructive cycle,'' he said.
Well yes, Mr Lawler, but only because it's illegal and unregulated in the first place, which jacks up the price, creates the super-profits that attract the criminals and makes drugs actually easier to get than alcohol for minors.
Ice and ecstasy seizures were the highest on record, and these drugs made up 20% of the 83,873 arrests last year. Drug law reformers see this as 83,873 wastes of time and money, and further evidence that prohibition is simply driving users towards the more risky drugs.
But most arrests - two-thirds of the total - were for cannabis, which is safer than alcohol by any objective measure, further underlining what a sad waste of time this War is -- not to mention the untaxed super-profits helping to keep our national and state budgets in a more parlous state.
Heroin seizures at the border increased from 99.3kg in 2007-08 to 150.6kg last year.
The full ACC reports are available at: http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/iddr/2008_09.htm
This is scary news. This is exactly the reason why drug and alcohol treatment is so important. The drugs are not going to go away. The best way to stop the increase of drug traffic is to start to rehabilitate the addicts. Thanks for your although disturbing, very informative post.
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