AMEND THE LAW ON DRUG PENALTIES

Mandatory minimum prison sentences have done little other than give
us a high incarceration rate. The deterrent value of tough drug laws
is overrated. Crack use declined after the 1980s not because of a
slick advertising campaign or mandatory minimum sentencing laws --
the younger generation saw what crack was doing to their older
siblings and decided for themselves that it was bad news. This is not
to say nothing can be done about hard drugs. Access to
substance-abuse treatment is critical. Diverting resources from
prisons and into cost-effective treatment would save tax dollars and lives.

Robert Sharpe

Washington

The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.