DRUG COURTS 'SOLVE' IMAGINARY PROBLEM

I read with interest a recent letter from the 11th Circuit Drug Court
coordinator. Predictably, the author, like any bureaucrat, fiercely
defends his domain, glossing over the glaring flaws of the system that
butters his bread.

Yes, drug courts are a step forward, but only marginally when compared
to the neverending Drug War Inc. By court rules, criminals with actual
drug problems are not diverted to drug court; only first-time,
nonviolent "offenders" are eligible. The majority of people who become
entangled in the drug court morass are otherwise law-abiding folk,
productive citizens and taxpayers who chose to relax in private with a
joint rather than a beer. Drug courts do not distinguish between use
and abuse. Nor is there one iota of evidence that "coerced treatment
works" for occasional users of cannabis.

Drug courts are in the business of "solving" a problem that doesn't
exist. Bureaucrats are in the business of protecting their jobs.
Neither has any credibility.

GREG FRANCISCO

Paw Paw, MI