DRUG-ABUSE TREATMENT SAVES MONEY, FAMILIES

I don't think anyone is going to argue that Noelle Bush would benefit from
a lengthy mandatory-minimum prison sentence for possession of crack cocaine.

But if drug treatment works for the Bushes, why not apply the same standard
to Americans from less influential families? A study conducted by the RAND
Corporation found that every additional dollar invested in substance-abuse
treatment saves taxpayers $7.46 in societal costs.

There is 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 academic failure, unemployment, addiction and delinquency.

Society as a whole loses out.

Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the
equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in antisocial
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 health problem it
is. Destroying the futures and families of people who make unhealthy
choices doesn't benefit anyone.