WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE TO EDUCATION FOR INMATES?

In her May 1 letter, Genevieve Lugo brings up an aspect of the drug
war's collateral damage that is often overlooked. Lugo makes a strong
case for providing inmates with viable job skills. Consider the
alternative.

Prisons transmit violent habits rather than reduce them. Nonviolent
drug offenders are eventually released, with dismal job prospects due
to criminal records. Turning recreational drug users into
unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of tax dollars.

At present there is a glaring double standard in place. Alcohol and
tobacco are by far the deadliest recreational drugs, yet the
government does not go out of its way to destroy the lives of
drinkers and smokers.

Imagine if every alcoholic were thrown in jail and given a permanent
criminal record. How many lives would be destroyed? How many families
torn apart? How many tax dollars would be wasted turning potentially
productive members of society into hardened criminals?

Robert Sharpe,
program officer

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.