Tiny plastic bags used to sell small quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and other drugs would be banned in Chicago, under a crackdown advanced Tuesday by a City Council committee.Look, I sympathize with their problem. They have a huge population that is intent on self-destruction, and confronting the severe cultural problems that afflict poor blacks in America would require more courage than any elected Democrat seems to have. But there does come a point where you have to ask, "What's the core problem here?"
Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) persuaded the Health Committee to ban possession of "self-sealing plastic bags under two inches in either height or width," after picking up 15 of the bags on a recent Sunday afternoon stroll through a West Side park.
Lt. Kevin Navarro, commanding officer of the Chicago Police Department's Narcotics and Gang Unit, said the ordinance will be an "important tool" to go after grocery stores, health food stores and other businesses. The bags are used by the thousand to sell small quantities of drugs at $10 or $20 a bag.
Navarro referred to the plastic bags as "Marketing 101 for the drug dealers." Many of them have symbols, allowing drug users to ask for "Superman" or "Blue Dolphin" instead of the drug itself, he said.
Prior to the final vote, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) expressed concern about arresting innocent people. He noted that extra buttons that come with suits, shirts and blouses -- and jewelry that's been repaired -- come in similar plastic bags.
Some years back, the city of Cincinnati was discussing registering and controlling baseball bats because of the enormous amount of bat violence that was going on in black neighborhoods. If you solve the underlying cultural problems, then you don't have to ban handguns, or baseball bats, or plastic bags. If you don't solve those problems, you are going to be trying to ban paper bags, little metal cans, glass vials, etc.
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