MAYBE ANOTHER APPROACH NEEDED

Regarding Neil Horner's column (The News, Nov. 23).

If long prison sentences deterred illicit drug use, Canada's southern
neighbor would be a drug-free America. That's not the case. The drug
war has done little other than give the former land of the free the
highest incarceration rate in the world.

It's worth noting that tobacco use has declined considerably in
recent years. Public education efforts are paying off. 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, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy www.csdp.org

Washington, DC