CAPSULE COMMENTARY: “Drug War Booty”

“A small $45,000 scandal has hit the Prince George’s County (Maryland) sheriff’s office. It seems that the sheriff’s department seized the money from an alleged drug dealer seven years ago and hid it in a safe instead of depositing it in the county treasury, as required by Maryland law. Why? To give the sheriff’s department time to lobby the legislature for a change in the law that would permit the department to keep and use the money for itself. Now, let’s not be too hard on the poor, little sheriff’s department. After all, as the Washington Post pointed out in its story on the case, the sheriff’s office has been strapped for cash for the past several years due to budget battles. Why should drug lords, U.S. Attorneys, DEA agents, and state prosecutors be the only ones who benefit from the drug war? Of course, is it any wonder that drug lords and law-enforcement personnel are the most vehement opponents of ending the drug war? P.S. The sheriff’s department employee who disclosed the existence of the cash has been notified that his job is being eliminated.”