DRUG REHAB, NOT WAR

Re: "Give high court's ruling a chance," editorial, Jan. 15:

When it comes to the drug war, mandatory minimum sentences have done little
other than turn the alleged land of the free into the world's biggest
jailer. If draconian penalties deterred illegal drug use, the goal of a
"drug-free" America would have been achieved decades ago.

Instead of adding to what is already the highest incarceration rate in the
world, we should be funding drug treatment. The drug war is a cure that's
worse than the disease. Drug prohibition finances organized crime at home
and terrorism abroad, which is then used to justify increased drug war
spending.

It's time to end this madness and instead treat all substance abuse, legal
or otherwise, as the public health problem it is.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington