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Bible quotes to consider
War On Drugs The War on Drugs has volumes of stories of injustices. The bible also speaks on this subject. Exodus 23:1-3 King James Version (KJV) Leviticus 19:13-15 (KJV) Deuteronomy 16:18-20 (KJV) Psalm 82:2-4 (KJV) James 2:6 (KJV) John 7:24 (KJV) Matthew 7:1-3(KJV) Luke 6:36-38 (KJV) The themes that run through these quotes seem to be justice must be: How important is justice? Proverbs 29:14 (KJV) Philippians 4:8 (KJV) Psalm 9:7-9 (KJV) Jeremiah 9:23-24 (KJV) It doesn't appear the War On Drugs is following this template. Christianity feels no one is above corruption. But if we following a path that tends to lead to corruption of an otherwise noble field, shouldn't we change are strategy? A GAO study (1) that study police corruption and the War on Drugs showed. Other research (2) said about War On Drugs corruption Researchers noted "In systems where a member of the legislature or judiciary, earning only a modest income, can easily gain the equivalent of some 20 months' salary from a trafficker by making one 'favourable' decision, the dangers of corruption are obvious." (3 ). The Mollen Commission was set up to Police Corruption (in general) in New York City they said"... The practice of police falsification in connection with such arrests is so common in certain precincts that it has spawned its own word: `testilying.'. . . Officers also commit falsification to serve what they perceive to be `legitimate' law enforcement ends and for ends that many honest and corrupt officers alike stubbornly defend as correct. In their view, regardless of the legality of the arrest, the defendant is in fact guilty and ought to be arrested. Officers reported a litany of manufactured tales. For example, when officers unlawfully stop and search a vehicle because they believe it contains drugs or guns, officers will falsely claim in police reports and under oath that the car ran a red light (or committed some other traffic violation) and that they subsequently saw contraband in the car in plain view. To conceal an unlawful search of an individual who officers believe is carrying drugs or a gun, they will falsely assert that they saw a bulge in the person's pocket or saw drugs and money changing hands. To justify unlawfully entering an apartment where officers believe narcotics or cash can be found, they pretend to have information from an unidentified civilian informant. To arrest people they suspect are guilty of dealing drugs, they falsely assert that the defendants had drugs in their possession when, in fact, the drugs were found elsewhere where the officers had no right to be." (4 ). Despite what the media, politicians and the police say the people who are arrested and sent to prison on drug offenses are minor offenders(5 ). A medical official at Sacramento County Jail, was arrested for writing false prescriptions for drugs. He was charged with writing a prescription for him self and another person for Oxycotin (6 ). A police officer for the departments Youth Aid Bureau was suspended with pay on charges of prescription drug abuse ( 7 ). An officer in a prison was sentence to jail for smuggling drugs into jail. His motive was financial gain (8). During a raid in a home of Tam Davage and Marcella Monroe of Portland Oregon, it was said the police used excessive force. This time the police had the right address,it was caused by the raid of a 500 plant grow operation by Roman McCloskey. The police told the judge they found a $2,100 check with Monroe name on it during the raid and both had owned a car together in 1997. It appears the police misled the judge who ordered the search warrant. The $2,100 cashiers check to McCloskey's maintenance service and was labeled for a business purpose. The officers informed the judge that they smelled a light odor of marijuana near the home. They did not inform the judge that, four medical marijuana card holders live on both sides of the place that was raided(9 ). Robin Pratt of Everett, Washington was killed by a SWAT team when they were attempting to serve a warrant on her husband. Instead of using the key to the residence provided to them SWAT members threw a 50 pound battering ram on a glass sliding door. This landed near Pratt's six year old daughter. Pratt was order to get down when she started to crouch she looked up and said, "Please don't hurt my children.". A SWAT officer then fired at Pratt killing her(10 ). In Garland Texas police shot and killed Kenneth Baulch after breaking down the door of his bedroom. They shot him because they mistook the ashtray he was holding for a weapon (11 ). The DEA in Guthrie, Oklahoma broke into a home with axes handcuffed and kicked a man in front of his wife and daughters before they realized they had the wrong home(12 ). A nurse who is the head of an anti drug team was caught by police with bag of ecstasy tablets, a packet of cannabis and a film canister of cocaine the police raided a motel room (13 ). A sheriffs deputy was indicted on allowing illegal drugs to be used at her home where police seized drug paraphernalia, and also it was alleged that a police informant bought crack at her home (14 ). The charged were dropped due to a plea agreement in the agreement she agreed to resign her post as Deputy and never seek employment as a deputy (15 ). The founder of an anti drug program in California was arrested for trying sell drugs to an uncover officer at a meeting set up at star bucks (16 ). A report from the group Human Rights Watch said "The racially disproportionate nature of the war on drugs is not just devastating black Americans," the report also said "It contradicts faith in the principles of justice and equal protection of the laws that should be the bedrock of any constitutional democracy; it exposes and deepens the racial fault lines that continue to weaken the country and belies its promise as a land of equal opportunity, and it undermines faith among all races in the fairness and efficacy of the criminal justice system. Urgent action is needed, at both the state and federal level, to address this crisis for the American nation."(17 ). This isn't just to single out one city in general, the reality is this gives an overview of a countrywide problem. A study of search warrants for drugs showed, in San Diego county African Americans were subjects of search warrants in twenty four percent of the cases. They are only six percent of the population. Hispanics are twenty four percent of the population and were subjects of fort three percent of the cases. Finally Whites are sixty one percent of the population made up thirty five percent of the cases. Researchers also found in New York that the rate of incarceration of an area population concentrated on the poorest of minority neighborhoods (18 ). Well do these minorities use drugs in higher numbers? A federal Survey(19 ) said "Rates of current illicit drug use varied significantly among the major racial/ethnic groups in 2004. The rate was highest among persons reporting two or more races (13.3 percent) and American Indians or Alaska Natives (12.3 percent). Rates were 8.1 percent for whites, 7.2 percent for Hispanics, and 8.7 percent for blacks. Asians had the lowest rate at 3.1 percent.". All of this is reflected in a recent survey based on race, about trust in the police. 78 percent of whites had a fair amount of confidence in their police 61% of Latinos and 55% of blacks felt the same way (20 ). |
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What does the Bible say about the War On Drugs?