REDUCE DRUG USE THROUGH EDUCATION

I write regarding George Amick's column "A move toward rational drug
laws" (Oct. 6). Mandatory minimum prison sentences have done little
other than turn the alleged land of the free into the world's biggest
jailer. If harsh penalties deterred drug use, the goal of a
"drug-free" America would have been achieved decades ago. Instead of
adding to what is already the highest incarceration rate in the world,
we should be funding drug treatment.

The drug war is a cure worse than the disease. Drug prohibition
finances organized crime at home and terrorism abroad, which is then
used to justify increased drug-war spending. It's time to end this
madness and instead treat all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as
the public health problem it is.

Thanks to public-education efforts, tobacco use has declined
considerably in recent years. Apparently, mandatory minimum sentences,
civil asset forfeiture, random drug testing and racial profiling are
not necessarily the most cost-effective means of discouraging
unhealthy choices. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Arlington, Va.

The writer is policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy
(www.csdp.org).