Pubdate: Fri, 9 Apr 2004
Source: DrugSense Weekly
Section: Feature Article
Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
Author: James E. Gierach
Note: James E.  Gierach is a former drug prosecutor in Cook County, a 
practicing attorney, a former primary candidate for Cook County State's 
Attorney who sought to end prohibition to prevent crime and reduce other 
drug prohibition harm.  He is a speaker for L.E.A.P., Law Enforcement 
Against Prohibition. http://www.leap.cc/

UNLUCKY ERIC

The headline - "Teens arrested on felony drug charges," (The Free Press 
Advocate, 3/31/04) - caught my eye as I curbed my motorcycle for a lunch 
break in Wilmington on Wednesday. The news story was about another drug-war 
failure.

According to the story and charges, 19-year-old Eric M. Friddle, a former 
local high school football player was caught selling 1 gram or more and 
less than 15 grams of cocaine to another. Too bad for Eric, he happened to 
be standing within 1,000 feet of a school making his commonplace infraction 
of Illinois drug laws a Class-X felony, the equivalent in seriousness of 
armed robbery, calling for mandatory penitentiary time.

Unbelievably, bail was set at $500,000, requiring the deposit of $50,000 in 
order for Eric to be released on bond. And assuming Eric the-19-year-old or 
his friends and relatives can post $50,000, ten percent of the bond, 
$5,000, will automatically be forfeited to the government for acting as 
"bail bondsman" under Illinois law.

Drug dealing in a prohibition world is the most profitable business on 
Earth but $500,000? The day after my motorcycle ride, I picked up the 
Chicago Tribune and read the storyline ("$750,000 bail set for man in 
slaying," Chicago Tribune, 4/8/04). A bail similar to Eric's bail was set 
for Christopher Kartzmark, 18, in a routine gang murder in 
Chicago.  Something is amiss, I thought, when the bail for murder and 
petty-ante drug-dealing so nearly equate killing another and drug dealing 
between consenting adults.

The prohibition of drugs has failed young Eric, as it has failed all of 
us.  Assuming for the sake of discussion before trial that Eric messed up, 
maybe Eric had an ineffective D.A.R.E. instructor, or maybe 
D.A.R.E.  itself is ineffective, as numerous studies have found.  No 
defense.  Or maybe the lawmakers who enacted prohibition laws that make 
drugs unreasonably valuable and put more drugs everywhere, tempting good 
kids to go bad, should be on trial with Eric for aiding and abetting 
drug-dealing everywhere. Won't happen.

Too bad Eric. Bad luck. Most people don't get caught. But the police claim 
they caught you and, now, prohibition has a good chance of destroying your 
life.  Ironically, drug prohibition is supposed to save the kids. But not 
you Eric. Not you.
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