WRONG APPROACH

To the Editor:
Regarding your Sept. 25 editorial (Police dog will benefit Monessen),
the police state approach to public health problems like substance
abuse is a proven failure.

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.

Based on findings that criminal records are inappropriate as health
interventions and ineffective as deterrents, 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 completely eliminated,
along with the U.S. Constitution.

America can either be a free country or a "drug-free" country, but not both.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.