Double Standards

By this point, you probably know that Mayor John Fabrizi of Bridgeport used cocaine while in office.

You may also know that absolutely nothing is likely to happen to him because of it. So far he's indicated that he won't resign, and to this point he hasn't been prosecuted.

There's the interesting part.

Cocaine use is illegal. If I were to snort cocaine and then announce it during a press conference, I'd probably find myself spending time with a few thousand of my closest, meanest friends in the Enfield prison.

The Journal-Inquirer ran an editorial on the subject that's worth a read.

Say a 10th-grade history teacher gets busted for drugs.

Does he get to keep his job?

Even if he has done a great job at what he does?
...
How about a single mother?

Let's says she lives in a tough neighborhood in Bridgeport and is poor and unemployed. She gets swept up in one of those big busts the authorities like to conduct to show they are fighting the drug war. (Mayors always applaud them.) And she gets arrested. Does she get another chance?

No. She loses her kid and goes to jail.
...
If we don't think drug use is criminal for some people, why is it for others?

And if we don't really think recreational drug use is like theft or arson, why don't we decriminalize it and stop jailing people for it? ("The Case of the Cokehead Mayor")

Why, indeed? Green Party gubernatorial candidate Cliff Thornton makes a more direct case:

“It should be obvious that the mayor is being treated differently from average folk,” Thornton said. “It reminds me of George Orwell’s Animal Farm,” Thornton said, “where some animals are more equal than others. This hypocrisy must stop.”
...

Thornton’s campaign stresses the need for more treatment options for those seeking to kick the drug habit and showing how the root cause of violence in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport are centered on the failed “drug war” and the high profits associated with dealing drugs. “These Illegal drugs need to be brought inside of the law to ensure equal justice” Thornton stressed. ("Thornton")

There are two questions here, one small and one large. The first has to do with why some people can get away with crimes just because of the position they hold. Fabrizi broke the law. Why shouldn't he resign? Why shouldn't he go to jail? Yes, decent people can screw up. Fabrizi's been good for Bridgeport. But that doesn't put him above the law.

The second question, which Thornton is indirectly addressing in his release, is about whether decriminalizing drugs would lead to a less violent society. If we remove what he's calling "the root cause of violence," i.e., illegal drugs being dealt on the street, would our cities become less violent? If we focused on treatment rather than punishment, would we be better able to manage our serious national drug problem?

We won't know the answer to the second question for a long time. We may never know. But the first... maybe John Fabrizi can answer that question himself.

Source

"The case of the cokehead mayor: Why not one law for all?." Journal-Inquirer 21 June, 2006.

"Thornton: Cocaine Use has Double Standard as seen in Bridgeport's Mayor Case." Press Release. Thornton for Governor. 22 June, 2006.