COURT DECISION ON STUDENT FREE SPEECH WRONG

The Supreme Court should take a cue from the nonsensical banner that
inspired their recent decision limiting student free speech. It might
do them some good to take a few "bong hits 4 Jesus." Before
sacrificing any more civil liberties at the altar of the drug war,
they should ask themselves, what would Jesus do? Would Jesus
persecute, incarcerate and deny forgiveness to nonviolent drug
offenders? Zero tolerance is decidedly un-Christian. Morally, the
drug war is wrong. On a practical level, the drug war is a complete failure.

There were 786,545 marijuana arrests in 2005, the vast majority for
simple possession. America is one of the few Western countries that
punishes citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis, yet lifetime use
of marijuana is higher in the United States than any European
country. Thanks to the war on some drugs, the land of the free now
has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Yet the drug war has
failed to keep drugs out of prisons, much less schools. This is not a
policy worthy of constitutional exemptions. The Supreme Court should
prioritize protecting civil liberties over perpetuating a drug war.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.