Many ways to profit from the drug trade

Drugs are big business for police.

First, without “drugs” we’d need a whole lot less cops – and judges, ADAs and prisons too.

Second, police get promoted based on how much cash they can seize and how many DEA-rewarded drug busts (i.e. a joint in a car) they can make.

Third, no small number of cops flat out are in the drug business. They provide security for drug shipments, bust competing gangs on behalf of criminal associates, re-sell drugs seized in arrests and in the case of Kingston, NY steal “drug bust” money.

It’s quite a circus and it’s relatively rare to see a whole police department go down at once.

This is archival footage, but it makes the point.