Pubdate: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Parksville Qualicum Beach News Contact: http://www.pqbnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1361 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1354/a09.html Author: Robert Sharpe MAYBE ANOTHER APPROACH NEEDED Regarding Neil Horner's column (The News, Nov. 23). If long prison sentences deterred illicit drug use, Canada's southern neighbor would be a drug-free America. That's not the case. The drug war has done little other than give the former land of the free the highest incarceration rate in the world. It's worth noting 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. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy www.csdp.org Washington, DC - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake