Pubdate: Sun, 11 May 2003
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Section: York, Page 10Y
Copyright: 2003 The Charlotte Observer
Contact:  http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78
Author: Robert Sharpe

DRUG COURT IS A STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION

The writer is a program officer with the Drug Policy Alliance in 
Washington, D.C.

York County's drug court is definitely a step in the right direction. For 
nonviolent offenders with chronic substance abuse problems, drug treatment 
is a cost-effective alternative to incarceration. Unfortunately, drug 
courts are being misused for political purposes. Record numbers of 
Americans arrested for marijuana possession have been forced into treatment 
by the criminal justice system. The resulting distortion of treatment 
statistics is then used by drug czar John Walters to make the claim that 
marijuana is "addictive."

Zero tolerance drug laws do not distinguish between occasional use and 
chronic abuse. The coercion of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis 
into taxpayer-funded treatment centers says a lot about U.S. government 
priorities, but absolutely nothing about the relative harms of marijuana. 
For an objective take on marijuana, look to Canada. In the words of Pierre 
Claude Nolin, a member of the Canadian Senate, "Scientific evidence 
overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful than 
alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a social and 
public health issue."

Robert Sharpe

Washington, D.C.
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