Drug warriors fiddled while northern Kentucky burned

If you support the War on Drugs in the manner it's been carried out, you're soft on crime, and this story proves it.

In recent months, I've been the victim of a classic cancer scam - a scam that everyone falls for, without exception. I eventually discovered beyond a shadow of a doubt that the con artist was actually buying illicit drugs. I have probable cause to believe this includes heroin - the scourge of northern Kentucky in the 2010s. The police now know about this swindler, and I've filed a lawsuit in small claims court in a long shot effort to force reimbursement.

As things stand right now, it's not important for me to publicly identify the defendant just for the sake of doing so. The greater crime was committed by the drug warriors who have spent the past 35 years mortgaging civil liberties, demonizing dissidents, destroying careers, promoting prejudice, and padding the prison industry's profits.

Remember a few years ago when the right-wing media wanted to enact laws to require a prescription to buy over-the-counter allergy medicine, saying it would completely eliminate meth labs? Except there have never been any meth labs in Campbell County. In a county with 90,000 people, no meth labs have ever been found. Not one. And places that did enact such restrictions saw an increase in meth labs. Kentucky was teetering on the brink of passing such a law, but finally settled on a so-called "compromise."

The battle in Kentucky - and elsewhere - took everyone's eye off the ball. The press was trying to make criminals out of anyone who found a booger in their nose, but heroin abuse was skyrocketing and nobody was even noticing. I'm not interested in throwing the book at someone for using heroin. Addiction is an illness - and shouldn't be considered a crime on its own. If anyone must be prosecuted, I'd be more interested in going after the big drug pushers - the organized criminals who never get caught because the drug warriors are too busy going after people who smoked a little weed 15 years ago.

Recently, it came to light that Republican county officials in northern Kentucky rejected an offer from the federal government that would have designated the region as a high-priority heroin area and provided some money to fight this plague. Some said local officials rejected it simply because they didn't want to work with the Obama administration. Rejecting it for that reason would have been bad enough, but the real reason is that they didn't want their Tea Party donors caught for their heroin dealing.

Lastly, some in high places have been shooting their mouths off about what they think is behind the rise in opioid abuse, when anyone familiar with northern Kentucky demographics should know better. Not only did these statements possibly fan the fires of bigotry, but they too have taken people's eye off the ball.

I'm shocked that a drug-linked case that I'm personally familiar with fell right into prosecutors' laps, and nothing is being done about it - after 35 years of people doing hard time for offenses that weren't nearly as bad.

I don't expect to win my lawsuit, but I'll make sure justice is served. I will make sure other local voters know of my experiences, and how public officials are going to amazing lengths to cover their cronies' asses. I also think the actions of the defendant are fair fodder for an e-book.