Across the U.S., various police scandals are bringing to light the
institutional corruption engendered by the drug war.

The corruption associated with drugs is often cited as a reason to
increase drug-war spending. Yet, it is the laws themselves that give
rise to this corruption.

"B.C. bud," currently worth its weight in gold in the U.S., would be
virtually worthless, if legal.

America's disastrous experience with alcohol prohibition confirms that
criminalizeing a public health problem creates more problems than it
solves.

On average, non-violent drug offenders in the U.S. spend more time in
federal prisons than violent offenders. Yet, "zero tolerance" has not
stopped the flow of drugs.

The U.S. is slowly becoming a police state. The "Land of the Free"
now has the highest incarceration rate in the world. We need to stop
heeding the politicians and lobbyists who use drug-war hysteria to
manipulate the public and generate profits.

While concern for children is the ruse used to fool the public, it is
an addiction to money and power that perpetuates our failed drug
policy in America.

Robert Sharpe,
Washington, D.C.