Pubdate: Sun, 14 Jan 2001
Source: Daily Southtown (IL)
Copyright: 2001 Daily Southtown
Contact:  6901 W. 159th St., Tinley Park, IL 60477
Fax: (708) 633-5999
Website: http://www.dailysouthtown.com/
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n047/a06.html

PART OF THE PROBLEM

Regarding the excellent Jan. 9 editorial on the drug war's emphasis on
punishment at the expense of treatment, the vast majority of drug users have
jobs and pay taxes. According to U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, it costs
$25,071 in corrections costs per inmate annually, $71,184 if judicial, legal
and police costs are included. America now has the highest incarceration
rate in the world, with drug offenses accounting for the majority of federal
incarcerations. Numerous studies have found that prison serves to transmit
violent habits and values rather than reduce them. Most non-violent drug
offenders are eventually released back into society, with dismal job
prospects due to criminal records. Rather than waste scarce resources
turning potentially productive members of society with drug problems into
hardened criminals, we should be funding cost-effective treatment.

As far as crime is concerned, the drug war fuels it. When the supply of
illegal drugs is successfully limited while demand remains constant, drug
trafficking becomes more profitable. The obscene profits to be made
guarantee replacement dealers. In the short-term, drug prices are higher,
which is not necessarily a good thing. For addictive drugs like heroin, a
spike in prices means desperate addicts increase criminal activity to feed
desperate habits.

Children are especially vulnerable. With no controls for age, the thriving
black market is very much youth oriented. The drug war is part of the
problem, not the solution.

Robert Sharpe, Program Officer
Lindesmith Center 
Drug Policy Foundation
Washington, DC
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