LET'S DECLARE PEACE IN FAILED DRUG WAR:

Jefferson County Drug Court is definitely a step in the right direction,
but an arrest should not be a prerequisite for drug treatment. Would
alcoholics seek treatment if doing so were tantamount to confessing to a
crime? Would putting all alcoholics behind bars and saddling them with
criminal records prove cost-effective?

This country recently earned the dubious distinction of having the highest
incarceration rate in the world, with drug offenses accounting for the
majority of federal incarcerations. This is big government at its worst. At
an average annual cost of $25,071 per inmate, it is hardly fiscally
conservative.

There is a glaring double standard. Alcohol and tobacco are by far the two
deadliest recreational drugs, yet government does not seek to destroy the
lives of drinkers and smokers. It's time to declare peace in the failed
drug war and treat all substance abuse as the public health problem it is.

Robert Sharpe, The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation