WAR ON DRUGS A CURE WORSE THAN DISEASE

Mandatory minimum prison sentences have done little other than turn
what is supposed to be the "land of the free" into the world's biggest
jailer ("Declare peace in war on drugs," April 6). If harsh penalties
deterred drug use, the goal of a "drug-free" America would have been
achieved decades ago. Instead of adding to the highest incarceration
rate in the world, we should be funding drug treatment.

The drug war is a cure worse than the disease. Drug prohibition helps
finance organized crime at home and terrorism abroad, which is then
used to justify increased spending on the drug war. It's time to end
this madness and instead treat all substance abuse, legal or
otherwise, as the public health problem it is. Drug abuse is bad, but
the drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe

Washington

The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.