Pubdate: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2002 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: http://www.suntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n298/a02.html THE REAL INJUSTICE Regarding ''Wrong issue alarms Ashcroft'' [Letters, Feb. 20]: Louis Silverstein is absolutely right about culture wars heating up. In addition to spending tax dollars covering a classical Spirit of Justice statue that offends Attorney General John Ashcroft, the Bush administration is now pushing ''compassionate coercion'' for users of certain drugs. Coerced treatment does not distinguish between occasional use and chronic abuse. Given that only users of politically incorrect drugs are threatened with jail, the nation's millions of marijuana smokers are the most likely target of Bush's ''compassion.'' Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but arrests and forced treatment are hardly appropriate health interventions. Diet is the No. 1 determinant of health outcomes. Do we really want the government monitoring everything that goes into our bodies? And if it is the proper role of government to punish citizens for unhealthy choices, why target marijuana? Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Unfortunately, marijuana continues to represent the counterculture of the 1960s to reactionaries intent on legislating their version of morality. The United States now has the highest incarceration rate in the world, in large part because of the war on some drugs. This country cannot afford to continue subsidizing the prejudices of culture warriors to the tune of $50 billion annually. Robert Sharpe, program officer Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart