TACKLE METH EXPLOSION WITH TREATMENT FACILITIES

How should North Carolina respond to the growing use of methamphetmine?
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.

The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy

ROBERT SHARPE

Arlington, Va.