DRUG WAR WORSENS DRUG-ABUSE WOES

Brevard County's new drug treatment center will ultimately save money
for Florida taxpayers.

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 nonviolent 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.

ROBERT SHARPE

Arlington, Va.