YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

"Your tax dollars at work." Remember those road signs that mark road
construction projects in an attempt to show taxpayers that they are
getting their money's worth?

As you are calculating your tax return and perhaps writing checks to
the taxman, the state treasury, or your local municipality, we
thought we'd pull a few numbers together from our 180,000 article
collection about drug policy, and ask this simple question: are you
getting your money's worth?

While reading this list, please keep three important points important
points in mind:

. Drug prohibition costs far more than harm reduction alternatives.
The per-person price of treatment is about one third of
incarceration. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1353/a02.html

. Listing these costs ignores the revenue that might be generated by
taxing what are now illegal drugs, especially marijuana. Not only
would governmental bodies not incur the prohibition-related
expenditures of arresting non-violent marijuana users, they would
also benefit from the revenue boost that results from sales and other
taxes. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1632/a11.html

. Our large collection of newspaper, magazine, and Web articles on
all aspects of drug policy make this list possible. As you are
writing your tax checks, why not also make one out to DrugSense or
visit http://www.DrugSense.org/donate to make a donation online. If
we keep condemning the enormous costs associated with the drug war,
eventually public officials will "get it" and demand sensible,
compassionate, AND cost-effective solutions.

Now, here's our dubious list of drug war expenditures from the last
two tax years. Your tax dollars at work:

. Executing the War on Drugs. According to White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the official cost of the drug
war in the United States is $148.62 BILLION per year.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n435/a09.html

. Eradicating Colombian Cocaine. Designed to eradicate Colombia's
coca crop before it is processed into cocaine, the $4.7 BILLION Plan
Colombia has made the U.S. Embassy in Bogota the second largest US
diplomatic mission in the world. It employs 2,000 people, fields 20
aircraft to carry out daily spray missions, and utilizes 71 US
helicopters to protect the army and police units as they clear the
target areas of coca farmers, guerilla forces, and traffickers.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1295/a05.html

. Eradicating Afghanistan Opium. The U.S. government spends about $3
BILLION per year attempting to eradicate the poppy crop in
Afghanistan even though the Kennedy School of Government concluded
that annual purchases of wheat from these same fields at triple the
world price would cost less. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n038/a08.html

. Imprisoning Cannabis Users. Currently, one in eight inmates
incarcerated for drug crimes is behind bars for marijuana, at a cost
to taxpayers of more than $1 BILLION per year.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n360/a07.html

. Building Prisons. Texas Department of Criminal Justice has
proposed the construction of three new prisons to house a total of
5,000 prisoners, incurring $440 MILLION in building costs, plus an
additional $72 MILLION a year to operate them the facilities.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1621/a06.html

. Influencing the Media. The $25 MILLION "Above the Influence" anti-
drug media campaign represents the latest rendition of the $120
MILLION in advertising spent annually by the Office of National Drug
Control Policy. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n921/a07.html and
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1722/a05.html

. Incarcerating Women. The number of incarcerated women has grown an
astounding 592 percent since 1997 to over 85,000 prisoners in 2001,
with more convicted for drug-related crimes than for any other
offense. The cost of incarcerating one woman equals about $30,000 a
year, with an additional $30,000 incurred to place her children in
foster care. All told, this sums to about $5.1 BILLION per year.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1731/a06.html

If you think that your tax dollars could be better spent, then
perhaps its time to change drug policy. Please start by making sure
that numbers like these make their way to public officials. We've
created a handy flyer for you to download and print
http://www.drugsense.org/flyers/taxatwork.pdf. Then, donate to
DrugSense to make sure that these excesses continue to be documented.

Donating is quick and easy. Just visit this link:
http://www.drugsense.org/donate. Online donations are private and
secure. Since DrugSense is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit
organization, your donation is tax deductible.

Checks can also be made payable to DrugSense and mailed to:

DrugSense

14252 Culver Dr #328

Irvine, CA 92604-0326

Due to the generosity of a long time DrugSense funder we have again
secured a matching funds grant! This means that anything you
contribute right NOW to DrugSense will be matched, thus doubling the
effective amount of your contribution.

You can also spread your donation over the course of a year by
automatically repeating it every month, quarter, or half year.
http://www.drugsense.org/donate

Remember, it's not what others do; it's what we all do together that
makes a difference.