A MARKET FOR CRANK

Re "Leave my cold medicine alone" (View from the Fray, March 1):

How should Reno respond to illicit methamphetamine use? During the
crack epidemic of the '80s, New York City chose the zero-tolerance
approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many offenders as
possible. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was smoking
crack, and America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in
the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities
simultaneously.

Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing
to their older brothers and sisters and decided for themselves that
crack was bad news. This is not to say nothing can be done about meth.
Access to drug treatment is critical for the current generation of
users. Diverting resources away from prisons and into cost-effective
treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Common Sense for Drug Policy,

Washington, D.C.