Here’s how selective enforcement works in reverse: Street pharmacists in Mandarin or Ortega are shut down as soon as their feet hit pavement. In the urban core (especially Eastside, Springfield, New Springfield, Durkeeville) and other areas of general neglect (old Arlington, Sin City) their business tolerated and kept in a tidy, little pocket that the rest of the city doesn’t have to look at.

Ironically, the economies of the areas the dealers are tolerated in begin to depend on the illegal business and those areas suffer (at least in the short term) when the city starts “cleaning up” the drug trade.

With no middle class to spend money legitimately and keep people gainfully employed in these areas, drugs are the tax-free millions of dollars per year that keep food on the table, 30″ wheels on the road, roofs overhead, grills on teeth, nails longer than the fingers they’re attached to, and weaves made of real hair instead of that nylon crap. It’s a real catch-22; we want the crime gone but in order to get rid of it we must change the lifestyle many, many people are dependent on. Some of it will never go away (like prostitution and certain drugs) and should just be legalized, taxed, and (heavily) regulated.

Go to the Folio’s Dec19 issue and read the story on retired police chief Jerry Cameron’s current campaign against the drug war for some compelling arguments for legalizing a lot of the activity Mr. Cosa is tired of seeing the JSO tolerate.