DRUG-WAR POLICY IS JUST BUSINESS

Kudos to K.C. Walpole for an excellent July 24 op-ed on the prison
industrial complex.

For decades, entrenched interests riding the drug-war gravy train have
dominated the drug-policy debate. As a result, state budgets favor
incarceration over education. Prison-guard unions and for-profit prisons
fund the campaigns of politicians willing to support mandatory minimum
sentencing and zero-tolerance drug laws.

This is the business approach to drug policy. The more citizens behind
bars, the more money the prison industry makes.

It's worth noting that tobacco use has declined considerably in recent
years. Public education efforts are paying off. Apparently mandatory
minimum prison sentences, civil-asset forfeiture, random drug testing and
racial profiling are not necessarily the most cost-effective means of
discouraging unhealthy choices.

Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

www.csdp.org

Washington, D.C.