DRUG TREATMENT IS BETTER STRATEGY THAN DRUG WAR

Thank you for making the case for substance abuse treatment in your
Jan. 4 editorial, "Throw away the key?"

Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. A study
conducted by the RAND Corp. found that every additional dollar
invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal costs.

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 nonviolent 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

Washington

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy.