YOUR COMMENTS

I think its sad to see people discussing drug legalization rather than the actual point. Someone died over a bunch of kids running around selling drugs to one another. Where were the police then? It seems it takes a life to be lost before the lost are found. But really by then its too late. One man is dead and what kind of life are the others going to have? Everyone is on here saying let them kill each other! These are barely adults your talking about. They have kids, what about them? Oh well thier a drug dealers kids so we don't care? What's wrong with you people? What happened to human compassion? And as far as the police being up against SO MUCH...it wouldn't be that bad had the justice department done thier job in the first place! This isn't the first time thise kids have been in trouble. Take a look at the neighborhood. Where the hell are the police now. Still no where to be found. One police car whoopie, that'll stop this from happening again... I doubt it.
- Nichole, Worcester, MA

CDR in Lebanon, are you kidding? You must be a college student not connected with reality.

25,000 people die a year as a result of alcohol related motor vehicle accidents alone. Add on at least another 150,000 injuries. Neither one of those figures includes the human damage in the form of broken families, lost jobs, child abuse, sexual assault and diseases and physical ailments caused by alcohol.

Do you consider that "significantly safer"? Please go through the records and find out how many people were victims of your prohibition wars back then. Even adjusted for the increase in population, you won't even be close.

The only thing legalizing drugs will accomplish will be the lowering of arrest rates, because the crime will be gone. The results will still be there.
- Melvin, Keene

Here is an idea, let's start punishing the offenders the first, second, and third times. How do we as a society promote drug use and violence when offenders are not punished in the initial few times of the illeagal behavior. If the courts would punish appropriately then violence would decrease because there would be real accountabilty of crimes. Maybe we need to consider having a little back bone and punish people instead of instilling in them they can get away with anything including, MURDER
- Tammy, Lancaster

Not suprised at all. To bad a life was taken. Manchester=Lowell=Lawerence.
- G. Paul, Concord

Legal or illegal, people will always find a way to do what they want to do. Maybe we should try treating our addicts instead of jailing them. At a previous job I used to manage a group of employees. During the season when the college laborers would go back to school we would hire half-way housers. 98% of these men were drug addicts who had been jailed for doing something (typically burglery) in order to obtain funds for their drug of choice. I can tell you that none of these men had been reformed. During their break they would share stories amongst themselves about how to beat the mandated drug tests or knowing how long they had before their next test so they could get high. In most cases these men ended up back in jail within 6 months violating their parole with a drug charge or dirty urine. With better treatment and programs perhaps we could slow the bleeding. This wont heal the wound completely but it would create more jobs and slow the amount of repeat offenders.

Oh yah, DARE.... Drugs Are Really Exciting... Program does more to create interest about drugs both positive and negative. I recall the kids at my elementary school starting to drink and smoke at the same time as the dare program starting, 6th grade!
- Matt, Manchester

James from manchester?? Do me a favor and shut your mouth regarding the father of my child. To everyone reading this! NONE of you know what happened! You think this newspaper article told you everything?? I don't think so. I spoke with the detective personally and there is a lot that went unsaid pertaining to this case..It was not about drugs. Not all all! That girl is a liar and pretty soon you are going to see her picture up here. Please, think about his loved ones that are reading these nasty comments you write.
- Ruthie, Massachusettes

Maybe we need to research exactly why criminalizing drugs was enacted before we go marching backwards in time and claiming it's a new idea, because it's not and it goes back much further than the glorious 60's. But the media seems to end at Woodstock these days.

In the later 1800's you could get anything from cocaine to opium. Some even made drinks full of the stuff and sold them as cures. Of course the reality was you just couldn’t feel anything anymore so it gave the illusion of curing your problem. But I'm willing to bet the criminalization of drugs came about because the effects on society were not very good. This is the perfect subject that can be researched so we don't go down a bad road that was already traveled. Or we can sell it as something new that was never tried and act shocked when it does not turn out as good as some want us to believe.
- Deb, Derry

Stavros from Manchester.

Are you for real. Maybe you in your great mind of wisdom and stupidity, you should get certified as a Police Officer of Manchester and first hand see what they are up against instead of shooting your mouth off with such vile. You have spouted off about the MPD Officers and Chief Mara for some time now. Did Chief Mara come in contact with you in the past for some reason, because it sounds like you have a personal grudge against him. If so I'm really sure it was Chief Mara's fault huh.
First of all, let's get this straight, I have known Chief Mara when he became a Police Officer in Manchester. Chief Mara has chosen the town of Bedford to live in and has been residing there since I've known him. Just because he lives there has no bearings on his feelings towards Manchester. He was giving an oath to protect the citizens of Manchester of which he carries out each day he is working and wearing that badge of the MPD with pride. (Just like I did). Please get off the fact that he lives out of town. Stavros, blame the mayor (probably the one you voted for) who placed Chief Mara in that position, knowing he lived out of town. The mayor had no problem placing Chief Mara in that position of authority.
Secondly Stravos, I want to comment about this article. There is no way Chief Mara can possibly know everything that is going on in the city of Manchester. Bad guys don't advertise what they are doing illegal and if Chief Mara does know, he is a super natural human being.(Maybe it's the water he's drinking in Bedford).
Thirdly Stravos, you will never put an end to drugs until you kill the demand
for them. This my friend will take a life time to accomplish but it starts with our youth and educating them about the dangers of drugs and gangs. As a former DARE and Great Officer of Manchester the message was giving out and was recieved positively by the youths that I taught. Since then the city of Manchester has abolished the DARE and GREAT programs which I personally think was a big mistake. Maybe they should reconsider bringing these programs back into our school system or maybe you Stravos, could run a campaign as president to get this done because of your great wisdom and knowledge of the workings in Manchester. It's very easy to point fingers Stravos maybe its time for you to be a man and stand up. Please Stavros enough with the bad comments about the MPD and their fine officers who protect the citizens of Manchester and above all you too. To my brothers and sisters of the MPD keep pushing on you all will always be in my thoughts and prays.

Ret MPD Officer Rick (Gilly) Gilman
- richard gilman, brooksville fl

Sure put them in jail but…Incarceration needs to be self sustaining. Bring the cows back to Grasmere and make them grow what they eat! Prisons should utilize inmates for production marketable products to be sold for profit. What’s wrong with indentured servitude anyway?
Criminals need to prove they are worthy of rehabilitation. The tax payer is no longer willing to support their continued education and health club membership. For exercise they can run on treadmills and exercise bikes that have been modified to generate electricity for the jail.
"I have a dream..."
- kat, raymond

Jason from Greenland: Yes, legalizing and taxing alcohol DID significantly reduce the violence associated with alcohol. When was the last time you've heard of a St. Valentines Day Massacre or Al Capone crime family associated with alcohol? That's right, the 1930's...when alcohol was illegal.

Legalizing alcohol made our country significantly safer. Did it eradicate the negative effects of alcohol? No, but neither did Prohibition. Legalization did, however, get rid of the negative effects of Prohibition.
- CDR, Lebanon

Jason from Greenfield's point is "interesting" at best. How many liquor stores do you see killing each other over a turf war?

I suggest reading up a little on CONSERVATIVE economist Milton Friedman. He advocated the legalization of drugs and in free will and individuality.
- Jim D, Hillsboro

This is the results of a policy that places the countries largest cash crop ($35billion/year) in the hands of criminals.
It should be controlled, taxed, and regulated, but not promoted (no advertising).
- somebody, somewhere, nh

The drug wars and dealing here in this city is awful. And the drug dealing and people who are dealing crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin and meth, should all be arrested and put in jail. Look at the ages of these people arrested in this shooting. Theyre young, almost kids. Its time to stop rampant drug dealing, gang violence.... I believe that if your doing something illegal and do something to harm others in the process then .you do not deserve to live with the rest of us here in society.. What about our children and their future.. Hello, Lockem up and put them away.. Dont legalize crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin and meth. It is the "War On (some) Drugs" that causes this... Please help our children of our future.. Put them all in jail....
- Rhonda D, Manchester

it's not the drugs that cause the violence but the money behind the drugs that cause violence. Nobody shoots somebody over a lost quantity, but the loss of profit. If you take away the illigitamcy of the profit and make it regulated and watched, then the money becomes less bloody because there are other options to obtain money in bad deals other than resorting to violence, such as going through the civil courts, lawsuits, etc.
- josh, manchester

Drug dealers kill drug dealers, a win win situation. Thank them for their time, give them a gift certificate to a nice restaurant, more ammunition, and send them on their way. Theory being if they all kill each other MPD will just have to do the paper work, money saved. It's almost like the flies cleaning up the garbage.
- Russell, Manchester,

dont worry people, super dave mara and his fabulous community policing unit will clean up the garbage in manchester's ghetto streets. super dave closely monitors criminals at night from his palace in bedford and then sends his elite group of stooges and henchmen to go arrest them. what a joke, hopefully ted gatsas will shut down super dave and get a real police chief. maybe even a guy who lives in and cares about manch vegas......
- stavros, manchester

Legalizing drugs and taxing it will solve all of our problems, just like legalizing and taxing alcohol worked to end alcohol-related violence, right guys?

Guys?
- Jason, Greenland

The only difference between this home invasion and the other 30 reported in 2009 is someone ended up dead and the police had to further investigate.

Where's his baby's mama that was posting claiming he was drug free and out of that business? She had a lot to say the day this went down.

A. Wood....job openings with these guys off the street? For some reason I don't think these guys were holding anyone up from getting a REAL job
- james, manchester

The drug warriors always point to the problems created by addiction. I agree. There are problems with addiction. But that does *not* mean that we should then shred the 4th Amendment, spend trillions of dollars, and endure a massive increase in violence on our streets for a drug war that HAS NOT SOLVED OR HELPED the problem of addiction.

Your non-curative "cure" is worse than the disease.
- Jess, W. Leb

Fred,
Addicts will kill themselves whether it's legal or not, so that's not an argument. These "turf wars" would stop if there was no "turf" to squabble over. Legalization would cancel that out.
Yes, these dealers are essentially killing each other, but it doesn't take much for a stray bullet to go through a wall or a window and into an innocent person.
Legalization would cause some problems and no one can be sure of what those would be or if they would be worse than the problems we have now.
Black market dealers or more Govt control... not sure which would be worse anyhow.
- j, manchester

You don't see Market Basket and Hannaford's having turf wars about who gets to sell Bud Light. BEFORE alcohol was legal, though, selling alcohol was a *very* violent business.

This violence doesn't stem from drugs. It stems from prohibition.
- CDR, Lebanon

Bottom line is this, I think drug dealers and sex offenders deserves the same punishment, the death penalty. I believe that if your doing something illegal and do something to harm others in the process then you do not deserve to live with the rest of us. If the court systems could do this imagine the money saved on tax payers everywhere. This could be done if we have some police chiefs and judges with some brass on them and then we could have a more peaceful world.
- Bob, Manchester

LOL yes legalize it and tax the hell out of it. That will sove everything. Ho hum!

Once the politicians get their hands on that tax revenue you will be just like cigarette smokers seeking out a much cheaper source of your desires like buying it from Russia or the Indian tribes.

You only prove to me druggies take little time to think as you are willing to enslave yourselves to anyone willing to give you drugs. I hope I never live long enough to see what kind of society you create with such thinking. Government drugs and government treatment centers on top of it while at the same time none of you will be accountable for anything.

The bottom line is these drug dealers would most likely do anything to avoid an honest days work and the violence will not end by making it legal.
- Deb, Derry

Legalizing drugs is not the answer. We must make murder legal. These folks were all known to each other, let them kill each other to clean up the neighborhood. How many people are sitting in prison because they just got mad? Dying from old age or illness is not illegal why should dying because you are a low life be?
- Dave, Manchester

Lets legalize it. That way all the meth heads will stop breaking into people's cars and houses to steal things to be able to afford their addiction. Because legalizing drugs will automatically cause the people who are addicted to them to all of the sudden become productive members of society. They'll hold jobs and become honest over night! People who say that drugs should be legalized don't look at the big picture. The only thing it would do is stop dealers from killing each other. It doesn't stop the drugs from killing the users, and it doesn't stop the users from killing/hurting each other or robbing people, or stealing things.
- Fred, Milford

Drug Dealers - one dead, a couple more going to jail - not a bad way to start the day.

If we keep locking them up, and letting them kill each other, we'll create more jobs in NH. Building Prisons and Cemeteries.

Again, a win win.
- A Wood, Manchester

Hey Mike from Derry, how about 50,000 deaths a year, half of which are caused by alcohol impaired drivers?

Throw on another 150,000 injuries. Not really a war, but alcohol hasn't really been real safe either.

If you look at the youth of today and see their growing love of alcohol and the problems that leads to in society, we have even more problems.


Turf wars, nope. Death and destruction, yep.
- Melvin, Keene

Yea, I'm sure if all drugs are legal all problems would vanish! Very logical conclusion to come to. How would all the low lifes make a living if that were to happen? We need to keep them employed!

Tell you what, if everything that I want to do is simply legalized, this world be a perfect place!
- John, Dover

Who cares, as long as they're killing each other?
- Phil, Concord

Legalize drugs to stop drug wars??? Really??? Let's allow them to set up booths at our schools while we're at it!!!! Let's clean the streets of drugs and those who peddle them. That's my answer.
- Jim H, Manchester

Kevin and Howard, are you intimating that all of the problems associated with drugs will just go away if drugs are legalized?

Or just the violence?

You have to be kidding.....
- Melvin, Keene

Legalize it, and tax the hell out of it. Has anyone out there heard about any murders that resulted from an alcohol turf war since prohibition ended?
- Mike, Derry

Is anyone surprised that this murder stems for a black market created and sustained by the prohibition against drugs? Other than Jim, Singapore Brian and that Abbot guy?
- Howard Marks, Concord, NH

I find the headline deliciously ironic, and more accurate than the body of the story:

"Drug war behind street shooting"

Indeed, it's the "War On (some) Drugs" that causes this, not turf battles between dealers. We don't see beer retailers or tobacco shop owners gunning each other down, because they can ply their trade legally and openly. Legal competition eliminates the huge profit incentives found in the black market for illegal drugs.

Want to stop rampant gang violence? Legalize drugs.
- Kevin, Lancaster

Is anyone surprised that this muder stems from drugs?
- Jim, Manchester