Drug busts, drug arrests, crimes related to drugs. Sometimes the articles we write here in Selma began to sound like a broken record.

Every day we review the police reports, and almost every day there is some kind of drug crime listed.

One of the most disheartening things you hear from people defending those arrested in connection with drug crimes is “it was just a little marijuana.” Guess what, a little marijuana is still illegal. A speck of marijuana is illegal. The smallest grain or trace of marijuana is still illegal. If you don’t believe me, ask a police officer or judge.

How do you think they would react if someone walked into a federal building with “just a little anthrax?” Do you think anyone could have shown up at the Super Bowl with “just a little dynamite?”

Some will say I’m comparing apples to oranges and that is fine. But the law is the law, and if you don’t respect the law, you go to jail. We have two choices in Selma in battling our growing drug problems. Number 1, we can continue to make excuses and coddle these people. We can blame the environment and city leaders for not providing our young people with enough to do in their spare time.

Or, No. 2, we can get tough on ALL drug crimes as a city, as a community and as a population that has had enough.

Most people in the Black Belt know someone whose life has been affected by drugs. They might have a problem, their spouse might have a problem, or their child might have a problem. If they make excuses for themselves or that person, a small problem can turn into a big problem in a heartbeat. The drug problem is pretty cut and dry. Controlled substances are illegal — end of story. Marijuana is still illegal, cocaine is still illegal, methamphetamine is still illegal, and if a prescription does not have your name on it, it’s illegal to possess and use.

No one wants crowded prisons because of minor drug offenses, but wrong is wrong. If someone can be rehabilitated instead of going to prison, that’s great.

Either way, we can’t continue to shrug our shoulders and assume those who have run-ins with the police on drug charges were victims. If you follow the money these so-called minor drug offense are fueling much larger problems. We can’t eliminate our city’s drug problem overnight. What we can do is stop making excuses and start getting tough as citizens to aid law enforcement and seek solutions.