Einstein once stated that insanity was the act of doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  By his definition, the entire drug war is one giant act of insanity.

One of the legacies of the drug war is the irrational attitude towards drugs among elected police officials. It is always considered safe to grandstand on behalf of the children or against drugs. But this rhetoric has more to do with vote counts than it does with enhancing public safety. County Sheriffs may publicly play the role of cop, but more often than not they are merely politicians with guns.

Meet Sheriff Andy Hughes of the Houston County, Alabama Sheriffs Department (HCSD). Sheriff Hughes has a tough new job and he is ready to protect and serve.

On the HCSD website, Sheriff Hughes lays out the task of maintaining order.

• Law enforcement includes all road patrol, investigative and emergency response facets of the agency.
• Currently the HCSD has 53 certified officers to protect the safety of the 100,000 Citizens of Houston County.

• The Corrections function is served by our 204 bed jail facility.

But there is a problem in Houston, County. According to Sheriff Hughes, “Our day to day inmate count exceeds the rated jail capacity due to the inability of the State of Alabama to accept all inmates who have been sentenced to state prison.”

“Something many people may not know is that there are 586 square miles in Houston County and with the current manpower at the sheriff’s office, there are not enough deputies to cover that much ground.”

Sheriff Hughes says he plans to change that.

Drug enforcement is another area Hughes plans to invest a lot of resources in. According to Hughes,

“The drug war is a war we’ll never win and it’s time to attack it on a daily basis and concentrate on drugs.”

Einstein also once stated, “A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it.” To which I would add, “And yet, in America, it is the insane with whom we place responsibility.”