Re "Drug crackdown fails to cut crime, study says," Oct. 11: We may
question the objectivity of the Justice Policy Institute. We may doubt
its findings, that an emphasis on arresting individuals rather than
traffickers for drug offenses correlates with a higher crime rate. We
may explain away the fact that Sacramento County bears this out. But
common sense tells us our war on drugs is disastrous and its
escalation threatens our society more than drug use itself.

Human nature proves that experimentation is the norm. Our own culture
condones, even encourages, certain drugs. The severity of our
criminalization of other substances is illogical. This criminalization
creates the profit margin that moves drugs into our own community. We
force every new experimenter into an illegal subculture.

Disproportionate minority arrests and overcrowded prisons are the
result. We are to blame for asset-seizure laws that trample the notion
of presumption of innocence. By rebating a percentage of the proceeds
to local forces, we are to blame for making asset-seizure an
attractive funding option. It is we who convert our police into SWAT
teams. We place them in danger of gunfire and of temptation to
corruption by making laws that invite civil disobedience. It is we who
bog down our courts by instituting penalties that do not deter.

I am supporting Proposition 36 to send a message that it's time to
rethink the problem rather than redouble our failing efforts.

Robert Thorley,
Sacramento

Bookmark: For Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act items:
http://www.mapinc.org/prop36.htm