TIME TO DECLARE PEACE IN FAILED WAR ON DRUGS

The reopening of the Oakleigh substance abuse treatment program at Durham
Regional Hospital would ultimately save taxpayers money. A study conducted
by the RAND Corporation found that every dollar invested in substance abuse
treatment saves taxpayers $7.46 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. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug
war is worse.

The writer is a program officer at the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington, D.C.

ROBERT SHARPE

Washington, D.C.