Pubdate: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 Source: Herald-Sun, The (Durham, NC) Copyright: 2008 The Herald-Sun Contact: http://www.herald-sun.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1428 Author: Robert Sharpe DRUG WAR INEFFECTIVE 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 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. The drug war is a cure that 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, legal or otherwise, 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, Washington, D.C. The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy in Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek