Pubdate: Thu, 13 Mar 2008 Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL) Copyright: 2008 News-Journal Corporation Contact: http://www.news-journalonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/700 Note: gives priority to local writers Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n253/a04.html Author: Robert Sharpe DRUG WAR/DRUG ABUSE Re "Justice dungeon: 2.3 million behind bars in the 'land of the free,' " editorial, March 3: Mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses have done little other than turn the alleged land of the free into the world's biggest jailer. If harsh penalties deterred illegal drug use, the goal of a "drug-free" America would have been achieved decades ago. Instead of adding to what is already the highest incarceration rate in the world, we should be funding drug treatment. As a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy, I believe the drug war cure is worse than the disease. Drug prohibition finances organized crime at home and terrorism abroad, which is then used to justify increased drug war spending. It's time to end this madness and instead treat all substance abuse as the public health problem it is. Thanks to public education efforts, tobacco use has declined considerably in recent years. Apparently mandatory minimum sentences, civil asset forfeiture, random drug testing and racial profiling are not necessarily the most cost-effective means of discouraging unhealthy choices. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. ROBERT SHARPE, Arlington, Va. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom