HARSH SENTENCES DON'T STEM ILLEGAL DRUG USE

Regarding your editorial "Sentences must make sense:" If harsh
penalties deterred illegal drug use, the 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. 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 and instead treat all substance abuse,
legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is. Thanks to
public education efforts, legal tobacco use has declined considerably
in recent years. 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

Washington