OTHER VIEWS

Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun, March 23, on drugs:

Like most other states, Ohio has emphasized punishment as a means of
dealing with the drug epidemic. Lawmakers have mandated long sentences
for people who sell or use drugs, and for those who commit other
crimes to support drug habits. As a result, the state has spent
hundreds of millions of dollars building the cells needed to house an
ever-increasing prison population.

Ohio must turn around its spending priorities in dealing with drug
abuse. It cannot and should not abandon the fight against drug crimes,
but that effort should be reorganizes.

Prison cells ought to be reserved for the kingpins and other dealers
who are getting rich off the suffering of others.