DRUG WAR HARMFUL TO SOCIETY

Re "Lock 'em up: America's single-minded response to crime," editorial,
April 30:

Florida is not the only state grappling with overcrowded prisons.
Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. As policy
analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy, I know that a study conducted by
the Rand Corp. found that every additional dollar invested in substance
abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal costs. There is far more
at stake than tax dollars.

The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us
believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure,
joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Not only do the children lose out,
but so does society as a whole. Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders
alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing drug offenders
with a taxpayer-funded education in anti-social behavior.

Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of tax
dollars. It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin
treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health
problem it is. Destroying the futures and families of citizens who make
unhealthy choices doesn't benefit anyone. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug
war is worse.

Robert Sharpe

Washington, D.C.