CRIMINAL LAW

Your Sept. 19 editorial was right on target. The drug war threatens the
integrity of a country founded on the concept of limited government. The
steady rise in warrantless police searches, drug-sniffing dogs in schools,
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, a majority of European Union countries have decriminalized
marijuana. Despite marijuana prohibition and perhaps because of the
forbidden-fruit appeal, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United
States than any European country.

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, in large part because of
the war on some drugs. America can either be a free country or a
"drug-free" country - but not both.

Students who want to help end the drug war should contact Students for
Sensible Drug Policy at www.ssdp.org.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.