TREATMENT VS INCARCERATION

Dear Editor:

How should Butte County respond to illegal methamphetamine use? During
the crack epidemic of the 80s, New York City chose the zero tolerance
approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many offenders as
possible. Meanwhile, Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry was smoking
crack and America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in
the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities
simultaneously.

Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing
to their older brothers and sisters and decided for themselves that
crack was bad news. This is not to say nothing can be done about
methamphetamine. Access to drug treatment is critical for the current
generation of meth users. Diverting resources away from prisons and
into cost-effective treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

Robert Sharpe, MPA