DRUG CARE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO FOLLOW ARREST

The proposed Hamilton County Drug Court is definitely a step in the
right direction, but an arrest should not be a necessary prerequisite
for drug treatment. Would alcoholics seek treatment for their illness
if doing so were tantamount to confessing to criminal activity?
Likewise, would putting every incorrigible alcoholic behind bars and
saddling them with criminal records prove cost effective?

The United States 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 cost of $25,071 per inmate annually, maintaining the
world's largest prison system can hardly be considered fiscally
conservative. The threat of prison that coerced treatment relies upon
can backfire when it's actually put to use.

Prisons transmit violent habits and values rather than reduce them.
Most drug offenders are eventually released, with dismal job prospects
due to criminal records. Turning nonviolent drug offenders into
hardened criminals is a senseless waste of tax dollars.

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

It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin treating
all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health problem
it is.

ROBERT SHARPE, MPA

Program Officer

The Lindesmith Center Drug Policy Foundation

Washington, D.C.