THE WAR ON DRUGS HURTS BLACK MEN

U.S. government statistics confirm that the drug war is being waged
in a racist manner ("Young black men need help," Opinion *
Commentary, Dec. 24). According to the U.S. Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, only 15 percent of the
nation's drug users are black. But according to U.S. Justice
Department figures, African-Americans account for 37 percent of those
arrested for drug violations, more than 42 percent of those in
federal prisons for drug violations and almost 60 percent of those in
state prisons for drug felonies. Support for the drug war would end
overnight if whites were incarcerated for drugs at the same rate that
minority drug users are.

Racially disproportionate incarceration rates are not the only cause
for alarm. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure,
joblessness, addiction and delinquency. And incarcerating non-violent
drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of
providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in anti-social
behavior. 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 that it is.

Robert Sharpe

Arlington, Va.

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