TREAT METH USERS AND STEM ITS USE

Regarding Dave Peyton's March 18 column, "What's the answer to the meth
crisis?" How should West Virginia respond to the growing use of
methamphetamine?

During the crack epidemic of the eighties, New York City chose the zero
tolerance approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many users as possible.

Meanwhile, former Washington 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 firsthand what crack was doing to
their older siblings 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

Washington, D.C.

Sharpe is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.