NO TO ONE STRIKE

EDITOR:

Wilmington public housing residents have good reason to oppose the
"one-strike, you're out" policy of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.

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.
... Zero tolerance has done little other than create a massive
prison-industrial complex. Based on findings that criminal records do more
harm than marijuana, a majority of European Union countries have
decriminalized pot. Despite harsh penalties and perhaps because of
forbidden fruit appeal, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S.
than any European country. The failed drug war threatens the integrity of a
country founded on the concept of limited government. The alleged "Land of
the Free" now has the highest incarceration rate in the world. It's simply
not possible to wage a moralistic war against consensual vices unless
privacy is completely eliminated, along with the U.S. Constitution. America
can either be a free country or a "drug-free" country, but not both.

Robert Sharpe

Program Officer Drug Policy Alliance Washington, D.C.