Pubdate: Fri, 21 Mar 2008
Source: Anniston Star (AL)
Copyright: 2008 Consolidated Publishing
Contact:  http://www.annistonstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/923
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n221/a06.html

STOPPING METH EPIDEMIC

Re "Wise way to spend a million bucks: Scaring teens, stopping meth" 
(Editorial, Feb. 26):

How should Alabama respond to illicit methamphetamine use? During the 
crack epidemic of the 1980s, New York City chose the zero-tolerance 
approach, opting to arrest and incarcerate as many offenders as 
possible. Meanwhile, Washington 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 its older 
brothers and sisters and decided for itself that crack was bad news. 
This is not to say nothing can be done about meth.

Access to drug treatment is critical for the current generation of 
meth users. Prison cells are inappropriate as health interventions 
and ineffective as deterrents. 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: Jay Bergstrom