SHIFT TO PUBLIC HEALTH ALTERNATIVE IS OVERDUE

Editor:

The Oct. 22 article on the unclear outcome for prison jobs in the
North Country mentioned the possible impact a reform of Rockefeller
drug laws would have if non-violent drug offenders were diverted to
drug treatment instead of prison. The shift towards public health
alternatives to the drug war is long overdue.

With violent-crime rates continuing along a downward trend, the drug
war is a primary 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.

Putting Americans with substance abuse problems behind bars with
violent criminals is a dangerous proposition. 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 non-violent drug offenders into hardened
criminals is a senseless waste of tax dollars.

ROBERT SHARPE, M.P.A.
Program Officer
The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation
Washington, D.C.