EDUCATION WORKS

Re: Let judges judge, Nov. 12.

Regarding your thoughtful editorial, if mandatory minimum prison
sentences deterred drug use, Canada's southern neighbour would be a
"drug-free" America. That's not the case. The drug war has done
little other than turn the former land of the free into the world's
biggest jailer. It's worth nothing that tobacco use has declined
considerably in recent years. Public education efforts are paying
off. 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, Washington, D.C.

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy