Pubdate: Fri, 14 Nov 2003
Source: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC)
opyright: 2003 Evening Post Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.charleston.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567
Author: Sarah Harper

DRUG USERS AND PRISON

I think that there is something basically wrong with sending "users" to 
prison. Are these people truly criminals? Does an out-of-control heroin 
addict need to be punished for his or her actions?

My answer is a decisive "No." Outlawing the use of drugs does not preclude 
any sort of drug use. It does, however, cause thousands of young people to 
be categorized as criminals, which means that they must tap into an 
underground network of dealers and pay inflated prices for drugs that are 
unregulated and, by the nature of the means they are obtained, inherently 
unsafe.

I am not saying that heroin and cocaine should be available at CVS. I am 
saying that people addicted to these drugs should be able to receive help 
and detox without the ominous threat of six months to 20 years of prison 
time hanging over their heads.

Marijuana, I think, is an entirely different matter from "hard drugs." I 
think that marijuana should be regulated much like cigarettes -- 18 or 
older to legally obtain the product. Some people assert that it is not 
possible to drive safely stoned, which is, for some people, true. I don't 
think this is grounds for a prohibition of the product, but grounds for 
tighter regulation therein. (Personally, I would be much more frightened of 
a drunk driver than a stoned driver.)

In short, the "War on Drugs" is a war against innocent youth and longtime 
addicts, and, first and formost, a war against personal freedoms and 
independent, private choices.

SARAH HARPER, Sullivan's Island
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