Glob-a-log

(Getting high on Jesus in every possible way…)

I can’t say that I am a big fan of the “lock-em up and throw away the key” crowd. Prison is not the best cure for all of society’s crimes – and ills; and I would argue that most drugs crimes fall under the latter category.

It would be more sensible for countries to deal with the fact that drugs are here to stay. So, legalize all recreational drugs and control drug use instead of trying to combat it. When drugs are illegal, the market is controlled by criminals. Which leads to the sad fact that, bar a few millionaire pop stars and their ilk, every junkie needs to steal to feed his or her habit.

Legalizing drugs would not solve all of our societal problems with crime – or, of course, addiction – but official US crime figures show it could cut the figures for burglary alone by almost 40%.

It might also, in the UK, make quite ridiculous stories like the one reported here below a less frequent presence in the ‘weird news’ section of the world’s papers:

A Salvation Army drugs counsellor, who went on a burglary spree to fund his crack cocaine addiction, has avoided prison. David Marks, 47, admitted burgling two homes, stealing two cars and asked for a further 19 burglaries to be taken into consideration.

Judge John Lafferty jailed the drug addict for 65 weeks, but suspended the sentence for two years. The judge told Lafferty, who has 42 previous convictions for 92 house break-ins: “You have been given a chance. If you don’t take this chance, you and I will meet again.”

As I said earlier, throwing junkies into prison isn’t the best way to deal with drugs related crimes. Still, giving someone with 42 convictions for 92 house break-ins a suspended sentence is slightly weird – and more than a bit hypocritical.

If the guy hadn’t been connected to the Salvation Army, he would not have walked, of course. I don’t think many people would doubt that our addict would have been sent to jail if he had professed to be a member of a Satanic cult, instead.

Which is a bit weird. If he had been a Satanist, a life of crime would have been a logical career choice. From drugs induced naked orgies in the woods, to the occasional offering of babies, the sacrificing of domestic animals and virgins: all of that could be seen as ‘All in a day’s work’ for a Satanist – and something a sympathetic judge would take into account before sentencing one of those true believers.

Salvation Army officers, on the other hand, are supposed to follow the strange diktats of Christ, which means that they should treat their bodies as their temple, should refrain from coveting stuff, should give Caesar his due and, of course, should not go breaking into 92 houses to steal money to feed a crack cocaine habit…

So, if you insist on the criminalization of drugs use, and treating junkies like criminals, a Salvation Army officer who becomes one of those unfortunates, should be treated with much greater severity than, for instance, a Satanist. To deliver the supposedly devout from the consequences of their crimes is, as I already stated, not just hypocritical, it’s also illogical.

(Not your average crack addict: Satanism for beginners)

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 12:17 and is filed under Columns, Crime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.