TREATMENT, NOT PRISON, IS METH SCOURGE SOLUTION

Your Feb. 13 editorial on methamphetamine was right on target. Expanding
the drug war is not necessarily the answer. 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 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 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 already overcrowded prisons and into cost-effective
treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

ROBERT SHARPE,

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington