DRUG, ALCOHOL TREATMENT

The Polk Ecumenical Action Council for Empowerment (PEACE) is to be
commended for making the case for drug and alcohol treatment. A study
conducted by the RAND Corporation found that every additional dollar
invested in substance-abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 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
anti-social 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, MPA, Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington