'DANGEROUS PRECEDENT'

The financial incentives created by civil asset forfeiture laws
create a dangerous precedent. Police can confiscate cars, cash and
homes without bothering to charge owners with a crime. Vague
allegations of drug trafficking don't justify turning protectors of
the peace into financial predators. The drug war threatens the
integrity of a country founded on the concept of limited government.

Police searches on public transit, drug-sniffing dogs in schools, and
random drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties, while
failing miserably at preventing drug use. A majority of European
Union countries have decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana
prohibition, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States
than any European country.

The United States now has the highest incarceration rate in the
world, in large part due to the war on some drugs. This is big
government at its worst. It's not possible to wage a moralistic war
against consensual vices unless privacy is completely eliminated,
along with the Constitution. America can be a free country or a
"drug-free" country, but not both.

The results of a comparative study of European and U.S. rates of drug
use can be found at www.monitoringthe future.org/pubs/espad-pr.pdf.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.