How Police Use Drugs to Get Away with Killing

From George Floyd to Terrence Crutcher to Trayvon Martin, again and again, the pattern is the same. Law enforcement officers kill an unarmed suspect, then divert the conversation to whether or not that suspect may have used drugs. It is the victim who is ultimately put on trial, rather than the officer who killed them.

Old urban myths are constantly recycled about the imaginary effects of certain drugs, from exotic chemicals like Bath Salts and PCP all the way to cannabis. This allows police to get away with murder – and the media are all too often happy to play along for traffic.

However, this pattern is nothing new, in fact, it goes back to the racist roots of the War on Drugs itself.