The War on Drugs has not done a damn thing to make America a better place to live. It is what the Army would call a “force multiplier” for tragedy. Just ask death row inmate Cory Maye. Maye is on death row.
When you mix a culture of authoritarianism so strong that it is willing to destroy human lives over marijuana use with a culture where the last vestiges of entrenched American racism still hide and thrive you get bad juju. Why do I care about Cory Maye? Because other than the fact that I’m white I can see myself involved in a similar situation. My next door neighbor is a meth addict. My house is full of guns and I believe in using them for self-defense. If I’m woken in the middle of the night because the police break into the wrong house I don’t know how the situation will turn out. Would I end up on death row? I would probably have a better chance than Cory Maye because of my race, my education and my connections. Nevertheless, prosecuting an endless war against certain substances by advocating violence as the solution is a fool’s game.
Cory Maye shot a cop to death in the middle of the night just after being woken by the sounds of men trying to break his door down. Should he be put to death for defending his humble castle? I would have done the same. It is a tragedy that a cop died. But he didn’t have to. If the police stopped breaking into houses in the middle of the night and using terror like tactics in their civil invasions the incidence of unnecessary deaths would go down sharply.
Watch the documentary and decide for yourself. When are we finally going to learn that treatment is a better option than men with guns when it comes to solving substance abuse problems? Will it be in time to save Cory Maye’s life? I hope so.
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