DRUG LAWS UNJUST, UNREASONABLE

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is finally starting to realize what the DI
Editorial Board outlined quite clearly (DI, Oct. 6). In dealing with drug
use (especially marijuana), harsh punishments and legislation are not
working. As the DI notes, drug use among teens and other Americans is
approaching an all-time high. No one sits at home awaiting marijuana
legalization so they can try it.

Even if you're against drug use, you can't deny the ineffectiveness of our
current approach of arrest and incarceration. For political gain, some
politicians are blindly pushing for harsher punishments for drug users
while reason, justice, and personal rights are being thrown out. Students
are being denied financial aid for any drug conviction. Mandatory
minimum-sentencing laws are sending people to jail for 25 years to life
because of a horrible addiction. Hemp cultivation, which would benefit Iowa
farmers, is prohibited because of ignorance and illogical relation to the
marijuana plant, which hemp is not. Research about the effects of drugs and
addiction are being stifled to fit in the narrow range of acceptable public
conversation on drug use. We're keeping ourselves ignorant because we're
afraid what the results of this research might show.

The efforts of UI Students for Sensible Drug Policy are representative of
the national environment: The will of many is being obstructed by the few
policymakers who are unwilling to recognize a failed approach. Our upcoming
resolution on punishing drug offenders in residence halls (to be voted on
in the student and Faculty Senates this month) will advocate help,
understanding, and education about drug use over fines, jail, eviction, and
denial of financial aid. Education has been proven up to four times cheaper
and seven times more effective than incarceration.

The myth that if we don't send people to jail for drug use we aren't doing
anything to help them or keep society safe is just that: a myth, one that
Daley and an increasing number of respected politicians are finally working
to dispel.

George Pappas

president, UI Students for Sensible Drug Policy