DRUG WAR: 'CURE IS WORSE THAN DISEASE'

Kudos to columnist Tonyaa Weathersbee for raising awareness of the
drug war's collateral damage.

Unfortunately, the tragic shooting death of Jacksonville resident
Isaac Singletary is not an isolated incident. If violent paramilitary
drug raids and harsh penalties deterred illegal drug use, the goal of
a drug-free America would have been achieved decades ago.

Instead of adding to what is already the highest incarceration rate
in the world, we should be funding drug treatment. The drug war is a
cure that is worse than the disease.

Drug prohibition finances organized crime at home and terrorism
abroad, which is then used to justify increased drug war spending.
It's time to end this madness.

Thanks to public education efforts, tobacco use has declined
considerably in recent years.

Apparently, mandatory minimum sentences, civil asset forfeiture,
random drug testing and racial profiling are not necessarily the most
cost-effective means of discouraging unhealthy choices.

Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe,

policy analyst,

Common Sense for Drug Policy,

Washington, D.C.