SOME DRUG COURTS ARE BEING MISUSED

Regarding your thoughtful Feb. 17 editorial, drug courts are definitely a
step in the right direction. For non-violent offenders with chronic
substance abuse problems, drug treatment is a cost-effective alternative to
incarceration.

Unfortunately, drug courts are being misused for political purposes. Record
numbers of Americans arrested for marijuana possession have been forced
into treatment by the criminal justice system. The resulting distortion of
treatment statistics is then used by drug czar John Walters to make the
claim that marijuana is "addictive."

Zero tolerance drug laws do not distinguish between occasional use and
chronic abuse. The coercion of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis
into taxpayer-funded treatment centers says a lot about U.S. government
priorities, but absolutely nothing about the relative harms of marijuana.

For an objective take on marijuana, look to Canada. In the words of Senator
Pierre Claude Nolin, "Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that
cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated
not as a criminal issue but as a social and public health issue."

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Program Officer

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.