Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jul 2007
Source: Lufkin Daily News (TX)
Copyright: 2007 The Lufkin Daily News
Contact:  http://www.lufkindailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3616
Author: Robert Sharpe

DRUG WAR HAS FAILED

The Supreme Court should take a cue from the nonsensical banner that 
inspired their decision to limit free speech. It might do them some 
good to take a few bong hits for Jesus.

Before sacrificing more civil liberties at the altar of the drug war, 
they should ask themselves, what would Jesus do? Would Jesus 
persecute, incarcerate and deny forgiveness to nonviolent drug 
offenders? Zero tolerance is un-Christian. Morally, the drug war is 
wrong. On a practical level, the drug war is a complete failure. 
There were 786,545 marijuana arrests in 2005, the vast majority for 
simple possession. America is one of the few Western countries that 
punish citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis, yet lifetime use of 
marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country.

Thanks to the war on some drugs, the Constitution is increasingly 
irrelevant and the land of the free now has the highest incarceration 
rate in the world. This is not a policy worthy of Constitutional 
exemptions. The drug war has failed to keep drugs out of prisons, 
much less schools.

The Supreme Court should prioritize protecting civil liberties over 
perpetuating drug war failure.

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst,

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom