Pubdate: Thu, 24 Feb 2005
Source: Journal Gazette, The (IN)
Copyright: 2005 The Journal Gazette
Contact:  http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/908
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n258/a02.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

TREATMENT, NOT PRISON, IS METH SCOURGE SOLUTION

Your Feb. 13 editorial on methamphetamine was right on target. Expanding 
the drug war is not necessarily the answer. During the crack epidemic of 
the '80s, New York City chose the zero-tolerance approach, opting to arrest 
and prosecute as many users as possible. Meanwhile, Washington Mayor Marion 
Barry was smoking crack and America's capital had the highest per capita 
murder rate in the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities 
simultaneously.

Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to 
their older brothers and sisters and decided for themselves that crack was 
bad news. This is not to say nothing can be done about meth. Access to drug 
treatment is critical for the current generation of meth users. Diverting 
resources away from already overcrowded prisons and into cost-effective 
treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

ROBERT SHARPE,

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom