Sullum catches the reader's interest with a heart-tugging story of an innocent man, Patrick Dorismond that the police mistakenly identify as a pot dealer. When in actuality he is an off-duty security guard hailing a cab with a friend. Dorismond was approached by three undercover men, and asked if he could sell them some marijuana. He became angry with these men, and an altercation broke out. Dorismond was hit, and then shot to death by the police. According to eyewitnesses, the police did not follow proper procedure. The officers did not identify themselves when approaching Dorismond. There are also discrepancies in the story of who assaulted who first and how the gun went off.

ond was a casualty on the war on drugs." How Sullum comes to this conclusion is that the police, in their quest for "victory" on the drug front, go to any means to accomplish their goals. Including luring innocent people into the net of the illegal drug dealings in order to make a sting successful. Sullum states that the mayor Giuliani is so entrenched with fighting the war on drugs and his hatred of the mind-altering effects they have on people, that he will pull all stops to achieve success. Then Sullum attacks the other political party candidate, Hillary Clinton, by stating the obvious, that she is going to ignore the issues. Clinton had criticized the mayor for making public Dorismond's minor criminal record, which is often used as an excuse once a mistake has been made. It is also brought to the surface that she cannot make too much of a pot issue since her husband went on MTV and joked about his marijuana experience.

These conflicting facts are use

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 651
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)