LET PEOPLE REALIZE THEMSELVES THAT CRACK IS BAD FOR THEM

Mandatory minimum prison sentences have done little other than give
the land of the free the highest incarceration rate in the world. The
deterrent value of tough drug laws is grossly overrated. During the
crack epidemic of the eighties, New York City chose the zero tolerance
approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many offenders as possible.

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack and
America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the
country. Yet crack use declined in both cities simultaneously.

The decline was not due to a slick anti-drug advertising campaign or
the passage of mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Simply put, the
younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to their older
siblings and decided for themselves that crack was bad news. This is
not to say nothing can be done about hard drugs like crack or
methamphetamine, the latest headline grabber. Access to substance
abuse treatment is critical. Diverting resources away from prisons and
into cost-effective treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

ROBERT SHARPE, MPA

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.