Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
When it comes to drugs, mandatory minimum prison sentences 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 cost-effective 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 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.
-Robert Sharpe
Policy Analyst at Common Sense for Drug Policy
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