TIME TO DECLARE DRUG PEACE

Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders.

A study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that every additional
dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in
societal costs. But there is far more at stake than tax dollars. The
drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us
believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure,
joblessness, addiction and delinquency.

Not only do the children lose out, but society as a whole does
too.

Incarcerating non-violent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals
is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education
in anti-social behavior.

Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of
tax dollars. It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and
begin treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public
health problem it is.

Destroying the futures and families of citizens who make unhealthy
choices doesn't benefit anyone. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is
worse.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.