TOUGH LAW ENFORCEMENT WON'T STOP DRUG USE

Regarding Eric Sterling's Nov. 23 op-ed, "Take Another Crack at That
Cocaine Law," mandatory minimum prison sentences have done little
more than give the land of the free the highest incarceration rate in
the world. The deterrent value of tough law enforcement is grossly
overrated. During the crack epidemic of the '80s, New York City chose
the zero-tolerance approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many
offenders as possible. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry
was smoking crack and America's capital had the highest per capita
murder rate in the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities
simultaneously.

The decline was not due to a slick anti-drug advertising campaign or
the passage of mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Simply put, the
younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to their older
siblings and decided for themselves that crack was bad news. This is
not to say nothing can be done about hard drugs like crack or
methamphetamine, the latest headline grabber. Access to substance
abuse treatment is critical. Diverting resources away from prisons
and into cost-effective treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.