Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jan 2001
Source: Albany Times Union (NY)
Copyright: 2001 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany,
Contact:  News Plaza, Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212
Website: http://www.timesunion.com/
Author: Robert Sharpe

TREATMENT BETTER THAN PRISON FOR DRUG OFFENDERS

Regarding the excellent Dec. 28 editorial on the injustices of 
mandatory minimum sentences, the drug war is arguably waged in a 
racist manner, with blacks bearing the brunt of zero-tolerance law 
enforcement.

Although only 15 percent of the nation's drug users are black, blacks 
account for 37 percent of those arrested for drug violations, over 42 
percent of those in federal prisons for drug violations and almost 60 
percent of those in state prisons for drug felonies. Violent crime 
continues to trend downward, yet the land of the free recently earned 
the dubious distinction of having the highest incarceration rate in 
the world, with drug offenses accounting for the majority of federal 
incarcerations.

Support for the failed drug war would end overnight if whites were 
incarcerated for drug offenses at the same rates as blacks. Racially 
disproportionate incarceration rates are not the only cause for 
alarm. Our taxes are financing for-profit prison systems that serve 
to transmit violent habits and values rather than reduce them. Rather 
than waste scarce resources turning potentially productive members of 
society with drug problems into hardened criminals, we should be 
funding cost-effective treatment. It's time to rethink the failed 
drug war and start treating all substance abuse -- legal or otherwise 
- -- as the public health problem that it is.

ROBERT SHARPE, MPA
Program Officer
The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer