Inspector Leviathan Hobbes (a pseudonym) is a police inspector from the UK. As a serving officer at the management level, he's chosen to publish his blog anonymously, which is completely understandable. I'm a big fan of his writing and I've read every single one of his posts.

One post that stood out was The Drug Warrant. It was frank, funny, disgusting and tragic all at the same time. It portrayed the futility of the War on Drugs perfectly. Here's a paragraph describing the arrest of a heroin addict:

I tell Billy T he's under arrest and put a handcuff on one wrist. I take hold of his other to do the same, and he lets out a gut-wrenching scream. He drops from the sofa onto his knees, doubled in pain, tears rolling down his face. I ask him what's wrong and he rolls up the sleeve of his shirt. The arm - from the elbow down to the very tips of his fingers - is yellow. It's swollen to four times the size it should be, dotted with weeping open sores, the stench from which immediately fills the room. I take the handcuff off his other arm, walk him out to the van and take him back to the station. No words of comfort are offered.

After my guest post there was a lengthy debate in the comments section regarding the pros and cons of regulating drugs. Then the Inspector shared his own thoughts on the matter. I can tell it was not an easy decision for him. Below is an excerpt from his comments:

What I mean by this is, just because as police officers or MOPs [members of the public] we see the full impact that drugs misuse has on the wider community, not only on the user themself - and because we know the law inside and out regarding drugs - we can sometimes become blind to the alternatives. Just because the law and societal opinions have been the same throughout the lives of almost all of us, it doesn't mean it's right. It doesn't mean the law was devised because it works. Sometimes it's wrong. I can point to many examples, as I am sure many of you can. Think about it this way - if drugs WERE legalised and regulated, the Mister Bigs would suffer - the ones who deserve to suffer. Prostitution, a drug-reliant trade, I'm guessing would halve at the very least, as would most acquisitive crime. You can't get away from the fact that the majority of acquisitive crime is committed by habitual drug users. Yes, there are issues around the practicalities of this proposal, but they're not unachievable in the overall aim.

He further wrote (and this is the part that made my day):

So, I'll subscribe to LEAP. Sometimes what appears radical actually isn't. It's a conservative reaction to restore order to that similar to times gone past.

I know you will like visiting this enjoyable and well written blog. Also, please consider sending him a thank you note from LEAP, either through his contact form or in the blog comments section.