SUBSTANCE ABUSE SHOULD BE PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE

Your Nov. 27 editorial mentioned the possibility of alternatives to
incarceration for nonviolent offenders as a way of reducing the tax burden
on Cabell County residents.

A good place to start would be treating substance abuse as a public health
issue rather than a criminal-justice problem. The drug war is the main
reason the United States now has the highest incarceration rate in the
world. At an average cost of $25,071 per inmate annually, maintaining the
world's largest prison system can hardly be considered fiscally
conservative. And putting nonviolent offenders behind bars with hardened
criminals is a dangerous proposition.

Prisons transmit violent habits and values rather than reduce them. Most
nonviolent drug offenders are eventually released, with dismal job
opportunities due to criminal records. Turning recreational drug users into
violent criminals is not a good use of tax dollars.

At present, there is a glaring double standard in place. Alcohol and
tobacco are by far the two deadliest drugs, yet the government does not
make it its business to actively destroy the lives of drinkers and smokers.
Would alcoholics even seek treatment for their illness if doing so were
tantamount to confessing to criminal activity?

Robert Sharpe

Program Officer The Lindesmith Center Drug Policy Foundation

Washington, D.C.