DRUG WAR DAMAGING TO FAMILIES, SOCIETY

Re: "Fixing Virginia's prison woes," by Ronald Fraser, Aug. 25

Virginia is not the only state grappling with overcrowded prisons.
Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders.

A study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that every additional
dollar invested in substance-abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in
societal costs. And there is far more at stake than tax dollars.

The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have
us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure,
joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Not only do the children lose
out, but society as a whole does too. Incarcerating nonviolent drug
offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing
them with a taxpayer-funded education in anti-social behavior.

Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of
tax dollars. It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and
begin treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public
health problem it is. Destroying the futures and families of citizens
who make unhealthy choices doesn't benefit anyone

Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is even worse.

ROBERT SHARPE

Arlington