JAILING DRUG USERS DESTROYS FAMILIES

Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr.'s column on Gov. Robert
L. Ehrlich Jr.'s legislation offering alternatives to incarceration
was right on target ("Treatment benefits everyone," Opinion
Commentary, April 14).

A study conducted by the RAND Corp. found that every dollar invested
in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in social costs.
And there is far more at stake than tax dollars. Children of inmates
are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and
delinquency.

Not only do the children lose out, but society as a whole does too.
Incarcerating nonviolent 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.

Destroying the futures and families of citizens who make unhealthy
choices doesn't benefit anyone.

Robert Sharpe

Washington