TREATMENT HELPS, JAIL HURTS

On June 10th, The Gainesville Sun published the story of a student,
who while in jail for drugs, was raped at the Alachua County jail.

Since Nixon launched the war on drugs in the 1970s, much has changed.
A greater number of tax dollars are spent every year to stop the use
and distribution of drugs, a greater number of people are arrested for
drug related offenses and a greater number of addicts seeking
treatment will be turned away from residential programs. One thing,
however, has remained constant: young people have nearly universal
access to illegal drugs.

This college student was serving time at the ASO for the crime of
delivering marijuana. Use of this substance could and should be viewed
as a public health problem. However, rather than treat users of this
drug as we do users of cigarettes or alcohol, our congressional and
state representatives continue to maximize the harm they face, as was
the case last weekend.

According to the Web site Stop Prisoner Rape, youth detained for non-
violent offenses are at the highest risk for this unimaginable
experience. Though adequate statistics are not available, numerous
inmates have contracted HIV, resulting in what has been called by many
"an unadjudicated death sentence."

Insufficient staffing and overcrowding in detention facilities often
contributes to this problem, and until such fundamental issues can be
addressed, action must be taken. A sense of compassion and justice
would guide us to end the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders
and offer treatment over imprisonment.

Heath Wintz, Gainesville

Heath Wintz is president of Gainesville chapter of Students for
Sensible Drug Policy