Unintended Consequences

It's getting bad out there for one of Maria Cantwell's pet issues:

Murders, robberies and other violent crimes reported in the United States jumped 3.7 percent in the first half of the year, continuing a troubling upswing that began in 2005, the FBI said on Monday.

The FBI said law enforcement agencies reported that robberies soared by a startling 9.7 percent, followed by an increase in murders of 1.4 percent and aggravated assaults of 1.2 percent.

Last year, the number of violent crimes increased by 2.5 percent, the largest percentage gain in 15 years. The increase came after years of declines.

The U.S. Justice Department then announced that it would conduct a study of why the crime numbers are increasing, a study that has yet to be completed.

Department officials have cited as possible reasons a surge in gang-related violence, spreading use of the illegal drug methamphetamine and demographics, with children of the baby-boom generation entering the years when individuals are most likely to commit crimes.

The officials have rejected any suggestion that an emphasis on preventing terrorism since the September 11 attacks and funding cuts for federal programs to put more police officers on the street were to blame for the increase.

One of the main reasons I pick on Senator Cantwell is because she's a Democrat, and I expect more from Democrats these days. But unfortunately she's been determined to make this problem worse (from March 2006):

Senate Passes Cantwell Anti-Meth Legislation

Measure delivers $100 million in grants to help states overwhelmed by meth crimes, moves meth precursors behind pharmacy counters

Thursday, the Senate passed U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell's legislation to ban meth precursor drugs and give local communities a substantial boost in anti-meth funding. "The Combat Meth Act," along with other anti-meth measures included in legislation to re-authorize the Patriot Act, would restrict the sale of products used to produce meth, provide funds to help those affected by meth use, and give new tools to states, law enforcement, and prosecutors working to combat meth. The legislation also authorizes a total of $509 million in grants to states and local communities.

"Local law enforcement officers across Washington are drowning in red ink from fighting meth crimes," said Cantwell, co-chair of Senate Anti-Meth Caucus. "This Senate action is a big step in the fight against the meth epidemic, and will help get much-needed resources to those working to keep our nation's families and communities safe."

And as anyone who follows drug policy knows, this strategy is bound to fail. For a drug that has only around 500,000 users nationwide, it now factors into an amazing percentage of the crime that's happening. It's not a coincidence that this upswing happened as soon as various states began moving cold medicines behind the counter. Part of it worked as expected; it cut down on the meth labs. But where do all those people get their meth from now? From Mexican-based gangs who make much purer (i.e. more addictive) stuff that costs more money. As a result, instead of making it themselves, meth addicts are stealing from you to buy it. This is the trade-off we asked for, and it's the best we can do until Democrats find the courage to try solutions that might actually work.