OFFER TREATMENT, NOT JAIL

How should Virginia respond to the growing use of methamphetamine? During
the crack epidemic of the '80s, New York City chose the zero tolerance
approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many users as possible.

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack and
America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the country.
Yet, crack use declined in both cities simultaneously.

Simply put, the younger generation saw first hand what crack was doing to
their older brothers and sisters and decided for themselves that crack was
bad news. This is not to say nothing can be done about meth.

Access to drug treatment is critical for the current generation of meth
users. Diverting resources away from prisons and into cost-effective
treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Arlington, Va.