MANY STATES FIGHTING OVERCROWDED PRISONS

Wisconsin is not the only state grappling with overcrowded prisons.
Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. A study
conducted by the RAND Corporation found that every dollar invested in
substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal costs.

There is far more at stake than tax dollars. The drug war is not the
promoter of family values that some would have us believe. 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 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.
Destroying the futures and families of citizens who make unhealthy choices
doesn't benefit anyone.

Reference for above-mentioned study: Rydell, C.P. & Everingham, S.S.,
Controlling Cocaine, Prepared for the Office of National Drug Control
Policy and the United States Army (Santa Monica, CA: Drug Policy Research
Center, RAND Corporation, 1994), p. 42.

Robert Sharpe, MPA, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy,
Washington D.C.