WAR ON ADDICTS

Washington -- Regarding John Ibbitson's excellent May 5 column on
Premier Mike Harris's misguided welfare proposal (Little Sense Behind
Drug Tests For Welfare Users), the plan to coerce welfare recipients
into drug treatment will have the perverse effect of forcing addicts
to suffer in silence.

Would alcoholics seek treatment if doing so were tantamount to
confessing to criminal activity? Welfare recipients who voluntarily
seek drug treatment would risk homelessness in the event of a
relapse, a common occurrence among recovering alcoholics and drug
users. Driving drug use underground only compounds the problem.

By relying on drug tests, Mr. Harris's policy may actually encourage
the use of hard drugs. Marijuana is the only drug that stays in the
body long enough to make urinalysis a deterrent. Harder drugs exit
the human body within 48 hours. If you think drug users don't know
this, think again. Anyone capable of running an Internet search can
find out how to thwart a drug test.

Drug war profiteers and opportunistic "tough on drugs" politicians do
not readily volunteer this information, for obvious reasons.

ROBERT SHARPE, program officer, The Lindesmith Center Drug Policy Foundation