Hey all,
I wanted to discuss the Wire because it is largely the source of my drug and drug enforcement knowledge. The most disturbing that I learned was from a documentary. In Baltimore, only 1% of those convicted of drug crimes are white. If this is the case, drugs in the white community are essentially legal, but I digress. In the pilot episode of this show, someone says "you can't even call it a war, wars end". It's been nearly 100 years since the narcotics law was passed, and we haven't moved towards the end of drugs. Yet, the great thing about the Wire is that it addresses the drug problem and says: the current enforcement strategy of shaking down corners and fiends is clearly uneffective. Clearly, a different strategy needs to be taken.
This is where season 3 suggested something that had actually been proposed by a previous mayor of Baltimore. You don't legalize drugs, but you choose to ignore them. If people stay in a predetermined area, drugs are legal. When you have these people in one area, it's easier to control from a criminal and health standpoint and crime should decrease. But, as is the theme with this show, this effective plan will ultimately fail and the proprietor of it will be demonized (much like the mayor was). Clearly, we're losing the war on drugs if it hasn't been lost already. If this isn't a viable solution, then what is?
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