STOP THE PARANOIA OVER DRUG USE

It's time Americans realized the difference between casual drug use and
abuse. While millions of Americans can and do enjoy moderate amounts of
drugs such as alcohol and marijuana, others develop serious problems with
some drugs, and other drugs simply aren't addictive in the traditional
sense.

Casual drug use, smoking marijuana or having a glass of wine with dinner or
a few beers at a baseball game, doesn't wreak havoc on society. While some
people who consume alcohol become alcoholics, we don't throw them in jail
and take their property in order to help them overcome their addiction. We
provide treatment services, counseling, job training, and education.

We provide these programs because they are more effective than a long prison
sentence and much less costly.

But when it comes to drugs other than alcohol, which are just as popular, we
opt for a system that completely ignores reality. We concern ourselves with
the message we send to our children, without full consideration of what kind
of world they will inherit. Prisons filled to capacity; new ones can't be
built fast enough. Community police transformed into paramilitary units
armed to the teeth with automatic weapons. Government agents peering into
every facet of our private lives.

What kind of world are we creating for our children, a drug-free world?
Nonsense. There's no such thing. But we can deliver them a world where
people who harm no one are left alone. Where those who cause harm to others
are punished accordingly, and one where those who desperately need medical
treatment for drug addiction can receive it.

We must find a new message, a new way, and we must stop the paranoia and
ignorance surrounding drug use and abuse that has permeated our society, and
threatens our children's future.

Jim White