DECLARE PEACE IN WAR ON DRUGS

Regarding Jon Shure's Dec. 14th op-ed, "Drug-free school zones keeping
prison cells full," New Jersey is not the only state grappling with
overcrowded prisons. Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls
are pursuing alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders.

A study conducted by the RAND Corp. found that every additional dollar
invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal
costs. There is far more at stake than tax dollars.

The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us
believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure,
joblessness, addiction and delinquency. The children lose out, and society
as a whole does too. Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders alongside
hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a
taxpayer-funded education in anti-social behavior.

Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons 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. Destroying the futures and families of citizens who make
unhealthy choices doesn't benefit anyone. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug
war is worse.

Robert Sharpe,

Policy Analyst, Common Sense For Drug Policy, Washington, DC