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canyonwalkerThis evening I watched episode 7 of Breaking Bad, the end of season 1. One point the story has been making throughout much of the season is the hypocrisy of the War on Drugs. Yes, drug dealers are bad people. They're violent. And they're peddling dangerous products. But they exist because people want those products. Lots of people want those products.
In S1E3 Hank, Walt's brother-in-law and a DEA agent, drives Walt Jr. to a skeezy motel where he knows lots of meth addicts hang out. He is there to scare Walt Jr. out of using the "gateway" drug, marijuana. Except Walt Jr. is not using marijuana. And it's not really a gateway drug, anyway. Not any more than alcohol or nicotine are. As Hank is asking Walt Jr. rhetorical questions about what a gateway drug is and why it's a gateway drug, I jokingly answered "Alcohol!" every time Hank paused being filling in the word "Marijuana". And every single time, it fit.
In S1E5 Walt Jr. gets busted by a cop... for asking him to buy beer for him and 2-3 of his friends, all underage. Yup, literally a gateway drug right there. Alcohol. Walt Jr. is let off with a stern warning when Hank shows up to vouch for him.
In S1E4 Jesse shows up at his parents' house while high on drugs. His parents take him in but fret over how to set boundaries with him. They love him but do not approve of his drug use. We meet Jesse's much younger brother, Jake. Jake is 10 and is like everything that Jesse is/was not. He's intellectual, he's well spoken, he's an excellent student, he studies music. His parents love him. A day or two the parents' housekeeper finds a joint in the bedroom. She takes it to Mr. and Mrs. Pinkman. They confront Jesse and throw him out of the house. In the next scene, when Jake says goodbye to Jesse as he's getting into a taxi, Jake thanks Jesse for not telling them the joint was his. A 10 year old boy is a pot head. But he's still an excellent student. And his parents don't even know. Edited to add: Jake's joint did not come from Jesse.
In S1E6 Hank and his DEA team arrest Hugo, a janitor at the school where Walt teaches. Hank has traced the respirator mask found near a crime scene in the desert to missing inventory from the school's chemistry lab. Indeed, Walt stole those items. But Hank arrested the janitor on suspicion of the theft because he had a history of minor drug convictions. Then they searched his car and found a joint. They never did find any evidence linking Hugo to the thefts or any crimes related to methamphetamine manufacture, drug dealing, kidnapping, or murder; but just the drug convictions far in Hugo's past were enough to get the DEA to arrest him in front of the whole school and destroy his career.
In S1E7 Hank pulls out a few Cuban cigars to share with Walt outside at the baby shower for his daughter. Walt points out, accurately, that Cuban cigars are illegal in the U.S. Hank, the DEA agent, shrugs it off and completely fails to see the irony that he, a drug enforcement officer, is possessing and distributing contraband. "It's all arbitrary" what's illegal and what's not, Walt argues. Hank is completely unable to see that, too.
I'm not saying right now that any specific drug should be legal or illegal. That's a whole 'nother issue. What I'm calling attention to right now is that the status quo is pretty arbitrary. We need to recognize that first in order to move forward in making it make more sense.
In S1E3 Hank, Walt's brother-in-law and a DEA agent, drives Walt Jr. to a skeezy motel where he knows lots of meth addicts hang out. He is there to scare Walt Jr. out of using the "gateway" drug, marijuana. Except Walt Jr. is not using marijuana. And it's not really a gateway drug, anyway. Not any more than alcohol or nicotine are. As Hank is asking Walt Jr. rhetorical questions about what a gateway drug is and why it's a gateway drug, I jokingly answered "Alcohol!" every time Hank paused being filling in the word "Marijuana". And every single time, it fit.
In S1E5 Walt Jr. gets busted by a cop... for asking him to buy beer for him and 2-3 of his friends, all underage. Yup, literally a gateway drug right there. Alcohol. Walt Jr. is let off with a stern warning when Hank shows up to vouch for him.
In S1E4 Jesse shows up at his parents' house while high on drugs. His parents take him in but fret over how to set boundaries with him. They love him but do not approve of his drug use. We meet Jesse's much younger brother, Jake. Jake is 10 and is like everything that Jesse is/was not. He's intellectual, he's well spoken, he's an excellent student, he studies music. His parents love him. A day or two the parents' housekeeper finds a joint in the bedroom. She takes it to Mr. and Mrs. Pinkman. They confront Jesse and throw him out of the house. In the next scene, when Jake says goodbye to Jesse as he's getting into a taxi, Jake thanks Jesse for not telling them the joint was his. A 10 year old boy is a pot head. But he's still an excellent student. And his parents don't even know. Edited to add: Jake's joint did not come from Jesse.
In S1E6 Hank and his DEA team arrest Hugo, a janitor at the school where Walt teaches. Hank has traced the respirator mask found near a crime scene in the desert to missing inventory from the school's chemistry lab. Indeed, Walt stole those items. But Hank arrested the janitor on suspicion of the theft because he had a history of minor drug convictions. Then they searched his car and found a joint. They never did find any evidence linking Hugo to the thefts or any crimes related to methamphetamine manufacture, drug dealing, kidnapping, or murder; but just the drug convictions far in Hugo's past were enough to get the DEA to arrest him in front of the whole school and destroy his career.
In S1E7 Hank pulls out a few Cuban cigars to share with Walt outside at the baby shower for his daughter. Walt points out, accurately, that Cuban cigars are illegal in the U.S. Hank, the DEA agent, shrugs it off and completely fails to see the irony that he, a drug enforcement officer, is possessing and distributing contraband. "It's all arbitrary" what's illegal and what's not, Walt argues. Hank is completely unable to see that, too.
I'm not saying right now that any specific drug should be legal or illegal. That's a whole 'nother issue. What I'm calling attention to right now is that the status quo is pretty arbitrary. We need to recognize that first in order to move forward in making it make more sense.
