STOP LOCKING 'EM UP!

Tennessee is not the only state grappling with overcrowded jails. Many
states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing alternatives to incarceration
for non-violent offenders. With violent crime continuing along a downward
trend, the drug war is the principal reason the United States now has the
highest incarceration rate in the world.

A study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that every dollar invested
in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.46. 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 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.

Robert Sharpe
Drug Policy Alliance,
Washington, D.C.