The real crime problem

The Great Northwest is an insane place, crawling with addiction. I have seen people pull amazing stunts to acquire a fix of Oxycontin. I see it started by injuries in the work place. Family members were seeing their doctors for torn rotators cuffs. Every month receiving around a hundred Percocet. One never really noticed how bad it is, until its in your face.
Oxycontin has a street value nearing a dollar a milligram. With the pills ranging from twenty to eighty milligrams, one little pill is quite a profit for a person. Street thugs are trading stolen LCD screens, pulling guns, and even robbing pharmacies for the synthetic heroin. The jails are full of fans of the substance, but rarely for that reason. I have heard stories of people consuming eight to ten of these pills a day. $800? Where are they finding that kind of money? Even a well to do person can support that habit for a little while. That is why real estate agents are stealing jewelry, thugs are steeling your televisions, and even robbing the local Walgreens Pharmacy. So what is the world doing to change this?
Walgreens pharmacy has acted on its behalf by installing time lock safes in all of its Washington state branches. It is their way of lowering their chances of being a target of the crime. People are installing security systems to prevent their own losses. What is law enforcement doing to keep the drug off the streets? The jails are full of people that drive on a suspended. The court rooms are full of the same. People in possession of Marijuana, even in the smallest quantities. I have never heard of somebody trying to rob another person to smoke another bowl. Maybe it is a more likely drug to have in possession, but not likely to bring harm. The courts offer differed sentences to these people if they take drug awareness classes, or enter a form of rehab, yet they do not bring harm to anyone.
So with Washington State the leader in violence based on the use of Oxycontin, why are the beat cops not being filtered to the drug enforcement sector? Why is it that the resources of Washington State are being spent on passive actions? Crimes of much more violence are being committed every day, because the State does little to prevent the procurement of, and consumption of prescription drugs.
It is my belief that the police force is not being directed that way, because it is not the will of the corporate entities. There is not enough money in busting drug dealers. What is the maximum fine for dealing a controlled substance? 5K-10K? The trickle down effect of one dealer could effect an entire community. It is not until the community is sick and tired of being targeted that the effort is placed on catching the supply.
If the the supply never hit the streets to begin with, the trickle never would have taken place. Allowing the substance to reach the capacity that it has provides a need for more agents. Makes citizens believe they need more police presence. More marked cars, more traffic stops, and more funding. Everything in the local judicial system has a monetary effect.
The city of Lynnwood, Washington recently made public a budget deficit forcing half time on jail-able offenses. Was that a scare tactic? Was the intention to convince the citizens of Lynnwood to approve a larger budget? Lynnwood has some of the best equipment in the area. With several spanking new Dodge Charger police cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles, several red light cameras, and letter recognition software for running plates in parking lots.
The police presence in Lynnwood is obvious. They are often obviously trolling grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and gas stations. Yet motel rooms are crawling with the sales of controlled substances. Dealers are meeting at bars and Casinos. The local parks are full of drugs and drunks.
Really, what it boils down to is one question. Why is it our tax money is being spent making sure the honest citizen stays honest, instead of being funneled to stop the influx of a much larger problem.
So in not so many words, or in other words, " Spend our money preventing real crime!"