A WAR WE'LL NEVER WIN

Editor - Regarding Debra Saunders' column, "Drug laws' absence of
justice" (March 6): Mandatory minimum prison sentences have done
little other than turn the alleged land of the free into the world's
biggest jailer. If harsh penalties deterred 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 and instead treat all substance abuse,
legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is. 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, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington