Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jun 2003
Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
Copyright: 2003 Knight Ridder
Contact:  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/96
Author: Lauren Unruh
Note: Include your first and last name, address and daytime telephone 
number with 200 word or less letter.

DRUG WAR FAILS

I agree with Kris Stephen, education should have priority over the war on 
drugs. Our society does not invest enough in children, leading to an 
epidemic of failure.

More high school students use marijuana here than in Copenhagen. That's 
because illegal drugs are easier for teens to get than legal ones.

Druggie families rightly consider the police their enemy. The associated 
costs to their children are just appalling.

Schools are so underfunded. Children with rich and educated parents do all 
right, but many of the children from disadvantaged families do not. The 
schools just do not have enough money.

How much tax money are we spending on our drug war? How much more could be 
generated by state taxes on marijuana? I bet it's a lot.

Our government policies should support better schools, not Mexican drug lords.

The war on drugs doesn't solve anything. Like Prohibition, it's a war 
against citizens. It is funding organized crime, incarcerating nonviolent 
people, encouraging drug use among minors, undermining the relationship 
between police and citizens and costing us all way too much.

I hope to see a credible cost-benefit analysis done soon. These issues 
demand better policy.

Lauren Unruh

Pleasant Hill
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens