TIME TO DECLARE PEACE IN FAILED WAR ON DRUGS

Regarding the June 22 editorial, "Albany packs it in," the burden imposed
on New York taxpayers by Rockefeller-era drug laws grows each year.

While Albany debates reform, other states have introduced alternatives to
incarceration. A study conducted by the RAND Corp. found that every
additional dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers
$7.48 in societal costs. There is far more at stake than tax dollars.

Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness,
addiction and delinquency. Not only the children lose out, but society
does, too. Incarcerating non-violent drug offenders alongside hardened
criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded
education in criminal behavior.

Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of tax
dollars. It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin
treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health
problem it is.

Robert Sharpe, Common Sense For Drug Policy, Washington, D.C.