Boy, talk about putting your foot in your mouth!

Last week this column concluded by pointing out the United States’ war on drugs was inadequate. Well, thanks to Virginia’s law enforcement community, this columnist stands corrected.

In case you haven’t heard, three fraternity houses at the University of Virginia were raided by police. The raid turned up a whopping $500 worth of illegal drugs.

Whoa! Tony Montana look out!

The “drug sting” operation was carried out after undercover police bought illegal drugs from members of the fraternities. The raid was designated “Operation Equinox.” Cool name huh? Can you just see some yahoo trying to come up with an appropriate title for their raid?

“Hmm … let me see. ‘Operation One Day After the Last Day of Winter’? Nah, too may words. ‘Operation First Day of Spring’? Hmm, not bad but not quite. ‘Operation Day You Can Stand an Egg on the Pointy End’? Ooh, that’s a neat one.”

“Operation Equinox”? Considering the “success” of their big bust, they should call it “Operation Hang Our Heads in Shame.”

What really makes this whole thing so laughable is the government now has seized the properties on which the busts occurred. That’s right, our government now owns three fraternity houses. That makes no sense whatsoever.

Yes, the government has a right to seize private property on which illegal activities have been taking place. The problem is there were a lot of other guys who were not involved that lived in those houses. What happens to them?

A fraternity house is like a boarding house (ask the post office). Many people live there in individual rooms. They all sign a lease and they all pay rent.

Now, putting aside your prejudices against greeks, do you feel everyone in a boarding house should be put out on the street because a few people living there have been selling drugs?

Most of the members of the fraternity were not arrested and it’s a sure bet some didn’t even know drugs were being sold from or stored in the house. These guys are victims of the government trying to cover its butt after another failed drug bust.

By making an example of the offenders, the government is trying to shift our attention from the botched bust to the fact that they are now taking aim at the drug problem on college campuses.

It’s great the government has acknowledged the increasing drug problem on college campuses. They should be watching campuses more closely than they have been. Unfortunately this incident is not a very good example of effectively halting the use of illegal drugs.

Five hundred dollars worth of drugs is hardly a “big bust.” That money won’t even begin to pay for the man hours spent preparing for the bust, the surveillance equipment used and the crimes that went undetected because they were so busy with “Operation Equinox.”

Hmm … maybe that’s why they’re seizing the property. They can sell the houses to make up for all the taxpayers’ money they wasted and then use it to bust some sororities in “Operation Panty Raid.”

Be good.