The Taunton Daily-Gazette in Massachusetts reported this morning that drug peddling is a fact of life on Union St., a short dead street between Main St. and City Hall and the Police Dept., and residents live in fear. The problem, say police and politicos, is a revolving door for criminals and insufficient funding. "We don't do the aggressive policing you see on TV because of manpower," said Lt. Edward J. Walsh. Councilman Thomas Hoye also thinks that skyrocketing housing problems in Boston are sending people southward to places like Taunton and that that is contributing to Taunton's crime woes.

But while these might appear to be the problems, the real problem is drug prohibition -- it is prohibition that creates the street market in the first place. Enforcing it more aggressively on Union St. will only move it somewhere else at best. Keeping accused or even convicted drug dealers incarcerated for longer will only mean that other people will sell the drugs. At best they might do it less openly, and maybe that would help residents in some ways. But it would also likely hurt in other ways -- such as by driving the trade into the hands of the most ruthless people who are willing to take the greatest risks and are the most likely to employ violence -- or by increasing the likelihood of dealers making threats against residents to keep them silent.

The residents of Union St. in Taunton do deserve to have their situation discussed, and the Daily-Gazette deserves some credit for that. But to talk about the consequences of prohibition without mentioning prohibition does not do as much to illuminate things as the issue -- or the people of Union St. -- deserve to have happen.

The online copy of the story has a "voice your opinion" link and an e-mail address for the reporter. I couldn't find letter to the editor information -- please send in if you do.

- David Borden, DRCNet