Pubdate: Fri, 03 Jan 2014
Source: Times-Tribune, The (Scranton PA)
Copyright: 2014 Townnews.com
Contact:  http://www.thetimes-tribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4440
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n619/a08.html

PASS PEACE PIPE

Editor: The common theme among recipients of mandatory minimum prison 
sentences described in George Will's Dec. 26 column is consensual 
drug transactions between willing buyers and sellers.

The war on some drugs has had a profound impact on this country. The 
alleged Land of the Free now has the highest incarceration rate in 
the world. At a cost of over $30,000 per inmate annually, this is big 
government at its worst.

Prisons transmit violent habits and values rather than reduce them. 
Most nonviolent drug offenders are eventually released, with dismal 
job prospects due to criminal records. Turning nonviolent drug 
offenders into hardened criminals is a senseless waste of tax dollars.

It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin treating 
all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is.

ROBERT SHARPE

POLICY ANALYST,

COMMON SENSE FOR DRUG POLICY,

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