POLICE AND HEALTH

The police-state approach to public health problems like substance
abuse will make for an interesting class discussion when the Bill of
Rights is covered at Steamboat Springs High School, but it won't
likely impact rates of drug use. The steady rise in drug-sniffing dogs
in schools, warrantless police searches and random drug testing have
led to a loss of civil liberties in America, while failing miserably
at preventing drug use.

The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, by far the most
popular illicit drug. Based on findings that criminal records are
inappropriate as health interventions, a majority of European Union
countries have decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana prohibition
and perhaps because of forbidden fruit appeal, lifetime use of
marijuana is higher in the United States than any European country.

The drug war threatens the integrity of a country founded on the
concept of limited government. It's not possible to wage a moralistic
war against consensual vices unless privacy is eliminated, along with
the Constitution. The United States now has the highest incarceration
rate in the world, with drug offenses accounting for the majority of
federal incarcerations. America can either be a free country or a
"drug-free" country but not both.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy