Pubdate: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 Source: Arizona Republic (AZ) Copyright: 2000 The Arizona Republic Contact: 200 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix, AZ 85004 Website: http://www.azcentral.com/news/ Forum: http://www.azcentral.com/pni-bin/WebX?azc Author: Mitchell Earleywine, Ph.D. Note: "Last week's (Jan. 22) questions about the war on drugs brought a record 161 letters." Related: Series Index at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n103/a01.html CURRENT POLICIES FAIL As an experienced drug researcher and psychologist for substance abusers, I assure you that mountains of data and clinical experience demonstrate that current policies are a complete failure. Simple increases in the number of treatment centers and drug courts will not improve the problem. New laws that will eliminate the underground market are the only answer. It's time for all Americans to admit we've been wrong and start moving in a new direction. - - Mitchell Earleywine, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake