Looks like Mayor Wu is extending her approach to Boston’s massive illegal drug problem by allowing dealers as well as addicts to receive treatment in lieu of prosecution.
She made the announcement in late February and described it as an “update” to the city’s previous policy that offered the treatment alternative only to users. Wu hasn’t said much about exactly which dealers will benefit from this new level of decriminalization, but nobody at City Hall is denying that some dealers will now evade prosecution for crimes that are destroying Boston.
It’s a dangerous move in the wrong direction.
And it’s a policy that would make life easier for some of the thugs who are pushing young people to become addicted to things like fentanyl and heroin.
You see the suffering on the news: people hanging out in public places, bent halfway over, using drugs openly, or, worse, trading sex acts for drugs — often in front of children. These people need help, and help begins with locking up the dealers.
It’s an issue that Wu’s opponents in the mayor’s race should challenge her on.
Ninety percent of dealers aren’t addicts, and the big-time dealers don’t use at all. These are businessmen and businessmen can’t do good work if they’re wasted.
A relative of mine sold drugs for a while. He got caught and did two stints in prison. The only reason he stopped was because he didn’t want to go back to prison.
I visited him when he was close to getting out. We met in a small room with a window overlooking a grassy area where about 50 men, mostly Black, were standing around. He said they were all wrapping up their sentences and would soon be released. I asked what he planned to do when he got out, and whether he was getting treatment behind bars. He said, “treatment for what”? Surprised by the question, I replied, “addiction.”
He smiled. “I don’t need treatment. I’m not addicted to drugs. I’m addicted to the money.”
He glanced at the group of men and said “see those guys — they’re all in here for the same thing. When they get locked up they call it vacation.”
“Makes sense,” I said. “It’s a business.”
Mayor Wu probably doesn’t have any drug dealers in her privileged family. But she sees firsthand every day the way drugs are ruining Boston. If she gets it, then she’s a monster for proposing treatment as an alternative to prison. If she doesn’t get it, then she’s an irresponsible leader who makes serious decisions without understanding the issues.
Any politician who proposes decriminalizing drug dealing should be run out of office. In 2022, 2,642 people in Massachusetts died from drug overdoses — a number 15% higher than the national average. The people who died needed the very treatment Wu wants to offer their killers. It’s not ironic, it’s obscene.
The money behind illegal drugs is huge, and it has the capacity to control political campaigns for mayor, district attorney, and more. It’s hard to fight bad money, but politicians don’t have to take it. If they do, they need to make clear that no amount of money will persuade them to decriminalize drug dealing at the expense of human life.
Now might be a good time for Joshua Kraft to announce that he disagrees with Wu about not jailing drug dealers. He should simply say, “removing drug dealers from society is not a perfect solution, but it’s better than pretending they all need treatment.”
Kraft agrees with Wu on most issues. Voters need a good reason to vote for him, and this could be it.
Wu is popular, hardworking, and likable. Her calm demeanor and intelligent responses to questions are impressive. She commands respect and gives people confidence in government.
But even the most well-spoken genius politician should lose by a landslide if she thinks drug-dealers who destroy lives deserve a softer hand from law enforcement. They don’t. They need an iron fist and a reason to stop thinking about jail as vacation.
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