LET'S DECLARE PEACE

Louis Joselphson is to be commended for making the case for substance
abuse treatment ("State limits our ability to prevent crises," Sunday
Monitor Viewpoints, Dec. 9).

A study conducted by the RAND Corp. 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 non-violent 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.

Robert Sharpe

Arlington, Va.

(The writer is a policy analyst at Common Sense for Drug Policy in
Washington, D.C.)