END DRUG WAR; FUND DRUG TREATMENT

The drug war has done little other than turn the land of the free into the
world's biggest jailer. ("America's Drug War: Keep putting on the heat,"
Oct. 29, Nadra Enzi)

If harsh penalties deterred illegal drug use, the elusive 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 cost-effective 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. Thanks to public education, tobacco use
has declined considerably. Apparently mandatory minimum prison
sentences, civil asset forfeiture, random drug testing and racial
profiling are not necessarily the most cost-effective ways to
discourage unhealthy choices.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington