INEFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES

As a citizen interested in drug policy reform in Arkansas, I read with
interest the two different views of Sheriff Steve Whitmill and Judge Jerry
Hunton on methamphetamine use and abuse in northwest Arkansas.

Hunton asked the most important question of all, i.e. why do so many people
feel the need to use and abuse stimulants like meth? The same question can
be asked for alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, heroin or any other
mind/mood altering drug.

Whitmill stated that until w we make certain ingredients illegal (more
prohibition) we won't solve the problem of meth in Arkansas. He wants what
every drug warrior wants -- more money, more law enforcement officers and
more jails. This is the same tired old strategy we've been using for the
past twenty years and guess what ... it's not working. Street drugs are
still as readily available now as they were twenty years ago and we're
incarcerating American citizens at an alarming rate.

I'm tired of my tax money going to support drug policies that don't work.
It's time for a real change in drug policy in this country and I'd like to
see northwest Arkansas be a leader in this field. Judge Hunton's idea of
getting folks together and asking this difficult question is an excellent
one and I support it.

Georgia Lance

Elkins