LETTER OF THE WEEK

DRUG PROHIBITION ISN'T WORKING, EITHER

By Lennice Werth

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Thank you for your article on alcohol prohibition, including the
observation that it was "a tremendous failure."

Nothing has changed in human nature since the 1930s. As the historian
pointed out, "the distribution of liquor was turned over to a whole
group of criminal entrepreneurs." And while the premise of our
current drug war is that we must be protected from dangerous
substances, drugs are sold, unregulated, by this criminal class to
its extreme enrichment. The ensuing game of cops, robbers, and
snitches is painful to watch.

Nobody thinks this is working, yet our political leaders offer only
longer prison sentences. We have 5 percent of the world's population
and 25 percent of its prisoners. So many men and women are in prison
that their children are stressing our foster-care system. When they
get out, their opportunities to get on the right track are blocked by
laws that bar them from receiving help such as housing and education
aid. In this regard, the stigma of a drug offender is worse than
that of a murderer or thief, as they are eligible for such benefits.

Today, illegal drugs are cheap and easily available, even though we
spend millions -- maybe billions -- on our current failed
prohibition, and we have alienated our allies in South America due to
the drug war.

Why can't we figure out how to have a better policy even with the
vivid historical example of alcohol prohibition?

Tobacco is a very additive substance, yet we are having great success
discouraging use without putting anyone in prison.

Regulation is an option under which we could require that folks
buying drugs would be asked to prove that they are adults. We could
identify those with the most severe problems and gently guide them
toward treatment. Regulation is the answer we found for alcohol. It
is not perfect, but it would be a tremendous improvement over the
violent, adversarial, and terribly harmful policy of drug prohibition.

Lennice Werth

Crewe

Pubdate: Mon, 15 Dec 2008

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)