Pubdate: Wed, 29 Nov 2006
Source: Shepherd Express (Milwaukee, WI)
Contact:  2006 Alternative Publications Inc.
Website: http://www.shepherd-express.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/414
Author: Robert Sharpe

TOUGH LAW ENFORCEMENT WON'T STOP DRUG USE

Regarding Eric Sterling's Nov. 23 op-ed, "Take Another Crack at That 
Cocaine Law," mandatory minimum prison sentences have done little 
more than give the land of the free the highest incarceration rate in 
the world. The deterrent value of tough law enforcement is grossly 
overrated. During the crack epidemic of the '80s, New York City chose 
the zero-tolerance approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many 
offenders as possible. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. 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.

The decline was not due to a slick anti-drug advertising campaign or 
the passage of mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Simply put, the 
younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to their older 
siblings and decided for themselves that crack was bad news. This is 
not to say nothing can be done about hard drugs like crack or 
methamphetamine, the latest headline grabber. Access to substance 
abuse treatment is critical. Diverting resources away from prisons 
and into cost-effective treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine