HARSH DRUG LAWS' BOOMERANG EFFECT:

Superb editorial. Few (if any) news organizations in the country have
delved into the claim that thousands of otherwise law-abiding, tax-paying
citizens are being jailed needlessly on minor drug possession charges. Your
fact-gathering shows that in New York, by and large, this is not the case.
The argument to abolish tough drug laws rests on the faulty premise that
everything anti-drug has failed. But consider this: Since 1985, overall
drug use has declined by 48%, regular use of cocaine dropped by 77% and the
number of overall drug users in the country has been cut by 9.4 million.

Advocates for changing drug laws focus only on what's wrong with the fight
against drugs. In light of dramatic declines in drug use and crime, it
would be helpful if more people examined what went right, and why.

Steve Dnistrian
Executive Vice President
Partnership for a Drug-Free America
New York