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New at Reason
Radley Balko looks at recent scandals related to the government's abuse and misuse of drug informants.
Comments to "New at Reason":
x,y | August 15, 2007, 3:23pm | #
Nice pic of Bubs.Anonymous Bastert | August 15, 2007, 3:25pm | #
If you want to protect the children, you gotta break some eggs.Radley Balko is a patriot who does his country a great service. I just wish his stuff was more often published in mass-circulation media.
Drug Cop | August 15, 2007, 3:44pm | #
Unfortunate, but they were all probably doing something wrong anyway.golemmingsgo | August 15, 2007, 4:01pm | #
drug cop that is a piss poor attutedPaul | August 15, 2007, 4:13pm | #
I think that the use of drug informants is necessary (I haven't read Mr. Balko's article yet-- will do after I'm done with this "work thing"). But there's nothing wrong with using drug informants. Afterall, who knows best where the drugs are? It's what the cops do with the information that's questionable. And here's a question I have (that's probably already been asked by Balko): Why do cops act on drug informant information without, oh, you know, and investigation? Sure, a drug informant says that drug activity is taking place at 1711 Martin Luther King St. What happens next is what bugs me.Shouldn't there be an ensuing investigation with, you know, surveillance, maybe some wiretaps or microphones and the like? It seems that "Bubs" says "here thar be drugs", and the next day fourteen hard boys are shooting dogs, throwing flash-bangs and killing innocent people who happen to own a firearm. Is cop surveillance something that only happens in hollywood movies now?
Isaac Bartram | August 15, 2007, 4:38pm | #
Afterall, who knows best where the drugs are?Well, yes, except for the fact that it's really nobody's business where the drugs are.
Episiarch | August 15, 2007, 4:45pm | #
Is cop surveillance something that only happens in hollywood movies now?Anyone who watches cop movies realizes that stakeouts are BORING. Why wouldn't they just skip the boring part and go right for the action, seeing as they never get in trouble anyway?
Warren | August 15, 2007, 5:47pm | #
except for the fact that it's really nobody's business where the drugs are.Huh? I'm 100% against the WOD. Maybe you're saying it shouldn't be anybody's business if you wan to do drugs. But business is the only reason the drugs are there.
Taktix® | August 15, 2007, 6:14pm | #
Huh? I'm 100% against the WOD. Maybe you're saying it shouldn't be anybody's business if you wan to do drugs. But business is the only reason the drugs are there.And bad law is the reason the business is violent.
Tommy_Grand | August 15, 2007, 7:38pm | #
Great Article!Isaac Bartram | August 15, 2007, 9:54pm | #
WarrenI don't exactly understand you. If you can do drugs you should be able to buy drugs.
This is one of the problems I have with Holland where they have "legalized" drugs but they continue to go after "drug traffickers". The legal sources (the "coffee shops") in effect have to obtain their supplies illegally. But once they are past the person who takes the risk, it's fine.
The same thing has happened everywhere else where they have legalized "drugs" (actually only pot, for the most part). England, Canada, you name it.
How is there to be a supply if there are no Suppliers?
It is none of your (generic "your", not you personally) business what business I'm in unless you can prove I'm causing harm to someone.
emerson | August 16, 2007, 3:53am | #
"on the death of the Kathryn Johnston"It's the first sentence, for chrissakes.
johnn | August 16, 2007, 4:44am | #
how about the same things going on in the baltiomre city police department,you dont here about it,but when omalley and norris were in charge some of the same things transpired,the iid investigators were told what to cover up,who to investigate,who to go after and who to save,its not jus a problem in other states..the problem here is investigators seems to have pet incidents instead of investigating real cover ups,murders,and liesSka | August 16, 2007, 11:02am | #
Dude, are you just throwing in a plot from the Wire?Seriously though, as someone above me posted, articles like this need to get more mainstream attention. Perhaps after enough of them, the general populace will be softened up and realize that the WoD is a much bigger problem than people smoking pot.
tsiroth | August 16, 2007, 2:16pm | #
Oh, but you see, the people out there _know_ that it's not just about people smoking pot.It's about crack! Oh my GOD, crack! It's instantly addictive! If it doesn't make your heart explode the first time you try it! And black people use it! Oh my GOD!
And it's about heroin. Holy shit! Needles are gross, did you see Pulp Fiction, that overdose scene with Uma Thurman that was really really gross! And Trainspotting! Ewww!
And prescription pain killers! Those are like heroin, but without the needles, which really isn't fair, if you're gonna be a dirty junkie, you should have to use the gross needles. Plus Rush Limbaugh oughta be in jail!
And Meth! All our clean corn fed midwestern white children are staying up for 3 days taking apart all their parents' appliances!
I dunno, I'm not advising anyone to give up, but people like Mr Balko have been trying tirelessly to get the word out on the WoD for a very long time.
When Peter McWilliams died and nobody cared (except a handful of "libertarian crackpots") I lost hope that anything could ever get better, and since then, I think the WoD has only gotten worse.
the drug war is premised on the idea that we are saving the innocent. the truth is drug users know that they are defying their society's rules. that makes them sociopaths. therefore all the suffering of our country-crimes to finance drug buys,cost of prisons and extra police,distraction of resources needed to prevent terrorism , exports of dollars to third world countries , lack of resources to control our borders and reliance on criminals to target the innocent -is based on a great and evil lie.
AM Edition | August 17, 2007, 12:28am | #
According to Drug War Logic, you can't make an omelette without killing a goat. Because going after eggs is unglamorous and results in misdemeanors, and chickens are too much work to find.I'm still trying to figure out how a multibillion-dollar tumor of a drug war is more enticing than the disgusting tax revenue that would be generated by legalization to Washington legislators. Makes you wonder just how much money Pfizer, GlaxoWellcomeSmithKlineWhatever, etc. are pouring into the beltway.
