Pubdate: Sun, 14 Dec 2008
Source: Tulsa World (OK)
Copyright: 2008 World Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.tulsaworld.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/463
Author: Frieda Hale

A BETTER WAY

Perhaps there wouldn't be so much fussing between the city and county
over jail fees if the jail wasn't stuffed to over-capacity with
non-violent drug offenders.

The Rand Corp. did a study 14 years ago, which revealed drug treatment
is a much more cost effective way to deal with drug users than
imprisonment. But, we are so hard-headed and lacking in compassion
that we still go the law-and-order route, costing us millions of
dollars more each year.

Drug courts should be the path taken for all non-violent offenders of
the addicting drugs - and marijuana deserves nothing harsher than a
ticket. It's time to put to use all the studies that prove marijuana
is not a gateway drug to the addictive substances such as crack,
cocaine, heroin and meth. So we should put marijuana offenders in a
whole different category where a $100 ticket would suffice. Better
yet, we should just legalize marijuana. But I don't think we are that
advanced yet.

Frieda Hale

Tulsa
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