FAKE DRUG CHECKS THREATEN CIVIL LIBERTIES

Your May 15 editorial was right on target. Fake drug checkpoints are one of
many drug war tactics that threaten the integrity of a country founded on
the concept of limited government. The steady rise in drug-sniffing dogs in
schools, warrantless police searches and random drug testing have led to a
loss of civil liberties while failing miserably at preventing drug use.

The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, by far the most popular
illicit drug. 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 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, with drug offenses
accounting for the majority of federal incarcerations. America can either
be a free country or a "drug-free" country, but not both.

A comparative analysis of U.S. versus European rates of drug use can be
found at: www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/espad pr.pdf.

ROBERT SHARPE MPA

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.