Hamsterdam

The Wire is a critically acclaimed show about crime and punishment in Baltimore, MD. In season three, as Major Howard Colvin is approaching retirement, he decides to "legalize" drugs in Baltimore. Fed up with the constant low-impact street arrests of drug dealers and the complaints about violence from citizens of the community, Major Colvin takes the law into his own hands. Behind the police commisioners back, he designates a block of abandoned houses as a zone where the police won't arrest anyone for selling or using drugs. Major Colvin at first has difficulty convincing dealers to move their operations to this new territory, but eventually succeeds. And with a little help from the police, the junkies of Baltimore eventually catch on to this new safe haven. This new area is fittingly coined "Hamsterdam" by the hoppers, in reference to the Dutch city and the fact that the police or "pigs" are enforcing it. The writers use the Hamsterdam plot-line to explore the possible benefits of legalizing drugs. In Hamsterdam, there was little to no violence with the police acting as security, volunteers set up tents and give out free needles and condoms to prevent the spread of disease, and medical support was readily available to those who need it. Inner-city communities in Baltimore enjoyed the drug dealers off of their corners, and noticed the reduction in violence. Inevitably, the police commissioner and mayor catch on to Hamsterdam and shut it down immediately. Major Colvin is fired, receives a heavily reduced pension, and loses the job he had lined up after his retirement from the police force.

Hamsterdam was an interesting look into what legalizing drugs in America might be like. I personally think that it would considerably reduce violence and number of people in prison, but maybe lead to an increase in drug use across the U.S.

Here's a YouTube clip giving an overview of the Hamsterdam story-line: