ZERO TOLERANCE DRUG WAR

Re "The court's drug war" (April 1):

Kudos to The News-Journal for a remarkably balanced editorial on the
"one-strike, you're out" policy of the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development. Clearly the federal government needs to rethink its
tough-on-drugs fanaticism. The zero-tolerance law requires that entire
families be evicted from public housing if anyone, even a guest, uses
drugs. The youthful indiscretions of a rebellious teen-ager could
result in homelessness for an entire family.

As program officer for the Drug Policy Alliance, I know that zero
tolerance has done little other than create a massive
prison-industrial complex. The United States now has the highest
incarceration rate in the world. Based on findings that criminal
records do more harm than marijuana, a majority of European Union
countries have decriminalized soft drugs like pot. Despite harsh
penalties and perhaps because of forbidden fruit appeal, lifetime use
of marijuana is higher in the United States than in any European country.

The failed drug war threatens the integrity of a country founded on
the concept of limited government. It's not possible to wage a
moralistic war against consensual vices unless privacy is completely
eliminated, along with the Constitution. America can either be a free
country or a "drug-free" country, but not both. Drug abuse is bad, but
the zero tolerance drug war is worse.

ROBERT SHARPE, M.P.A.
Washington, D.C.