The Piedmont Chronicles
~ est. 2010 ~
[State of Georgia]
[Newton County]
Some Basic Truths About Drugs - A Write-up by Ellis Millsaps
Some of you are not going to like what's to follow, but from what's getting to be a long life working on both sides of the law, I believe everything I'm about to say to be absolutely true.
There is nobody who's not doing illegal drugs because they're illegal. Nobody you know or have known or will know.
I'm tempted to just leave it there but some of you may want supporting data.
Okay, just look at the state of American society since what was once called the War on Drugs began - about the only time you hear that term now is when black-shirted commandos burst into a house and terrorize, sometimes kill, innocent people because they have the wrong house of the wrong "confidential informant."
No matter how much we up the penalties - and we're starting to back off on that - there's been no decline in drug use, only changes in the drug of choice. For example, we now have a heroin epidemic in rural Iowa. Meth has become a scourge in many places.
The Cost to the American Taxpayer is Crippling Our Economy
America has more people incarcerated, per capita, than any other western democracy. The majority for non-violent drug offenses. We're paying thousands of dollars per year per prisoner incarcerating these citizens, and supervising them on probation or parole - a huge governmental bureaucracy to have to pay for. Also, and this is something that gets lost sometimes, these citizens are no longer a part of the tax base. No sales tax being paid. Property taxes. Income. So it's a double whammy.
Then there's the huge cost we're paying for the enforcement of these laws. The police, the judicial system, etc. Think about all of that money. Add that to the incarceration expenditures and loss of tax revenue. A triple whammy.
Apart From Taxes, There's a Huge Cost to the American Consumer
Imagine how much your insurance payments would go down if there were a much lesser chance that people would break into your house or car, rob you at gunpoint, etc. to get money for that next fix. So many times, these drugs and this war on drugs are responsible for many problems within our economy and society.
We Are Destabilizing the Governments of Central America & Mexico and Endangering the Lives of their Citizens
Put simply, you cut off their supply of cash - which is us - and the drug gangs will wither away. Oh, and these children crossing our borders that so many have complained about, they're fleeing drug gang violence fueled by the War on Drugs in many instances.
To be continued...
Ellis is an attorney by trade but has worn many hats over the years:
father, bus boy, stand-up comedian, novelist, wiffle ball player,
rock'n'roll band manager, and at one time wrote a popular and funny
column for The Covington News. A Fannin Co. mountain boy originally, Mr.
Millsaps now stays at the mill village of Porterdale by way of 20 years
in Mansfield. Usually funny and at times irreverent and subversive, he
leans left in his political philosophy but can always be counted on for a
pretty darn good write-up. The Chronicles are proud to have him
involved... ---
[Editor's Note]: A lot of truth, wisdom and common sense here in my opinion. While Ellis is definitely a good bit left of me on the political spectrum, I'm in full agreement with him here. Ultimately, I believe it to be a limited-government, and dare I say, conservative approach. I think Ellis has a unique and valid perspective too having been an assistant D.A., Public Defender, and a private defense attorney. He's seen it firsthand. `MM
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