DRUG LAWS RACIST, COSTLY

In response to William Montague's hate-filled letter to the editor
(DI, Oct. 12), I would like to take a different tactic and encourage
all people to educate themselves in regards to cannabis and the
archaic policy this country employs to try to control it. Unlike
ideologies of hate and absolute punishment, which have ruled in the
arena of drug policy for approximately 100 years, new, progressive
ideas are just what we need.

First, every year, roughly 700,000 nonviolent pot smokers are
incarcerated at a cost to the taxpayers of millions of dollars,
filling up the jails and allowing violent offenders back on the
streets. Second, Montague's claim that "marijuana use hurts academic
scores and productivity" is an outright lie. There have been studies
done to try to prove this, and none have substantiated it. Third, his
claim that cannabis reformers just want to shirk social responsibility
for drug use is ridiculous. We realize that some drug use is a
problem, but it is important for people to realize that use doesn't
automatically constitute abuse. And for abusers, it's clear that
incarceration does not work as a deterrent or aid. We need to reform
our laws so that we can deal with this problem in a smarter way - with
compassionate treatment.

Finally, perhaps Montague doesn't realize that the war on drugs is a
racist institution - proportionately, blacks and Latinos are
incarcerated far more than their white counterparts, which is ironic
because white people make up the largest proportion of drug users. It
is important to revise this bigoted policy in the interest of making
fair laws. It is also important for people to check their facts before
they simply regurgitate what the Office of National Drug Control
Policy has fed them.

Lindsy Gollihar

UI student