TREATMENT IS LESS COSTLY THAN IMPRISONMENT

Regarding the Nov. 17 article on Utah's expanding drug courts, treatment
has been proven to be far more cost-effective than incarceration. Yet in
order for drug treatment to be truly effective -- and not necessarily
preceded by an arrest -- policymakers are going to have to tone down the
zero-tolerance rhetoric of the drug war.

Tough-on-drugs attitudes discourage the type of honest discussion necessary
to facilitate treatment. Driving illicit drug addiction underground is
counterproductive and only compounds the problem. Nonetheless, drug courts
are definitely a step in the right direction.

With violent crime rates continuing along a downward trend, the drug war is
the main reason America has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Putting Americans with substance-abuse problems behind bars with hardened
criminals is a dangerous proposition. According to research published in
American Psychologist, about one-fourth of those initially imprisoned for
non-violent crimes are sentenced for a second time for committing a violent
offense.

Whatever else it reflects, this pattern highlights the possibility that
prison serves to transmit violent habits and values rather than to reduce them.

The United States is making a big mistake by criminalizing illicit
substance abuse. Imagine if every alcoholic in America were denied
treatment due to lack of funds. Now take that one step further. Imagine if
every alcoholic were thrown in jail and given a permanent criminal record.

How many lives would be destroyed? How many families would be torn apart
and career aspirations shattered? How many tax dollars would be wasted
turning potentially productive members of society into hardened criminals?
It's time to rethink the failed drug war.