Pubdate: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 Source: Boulder Weekly (CO) Copyright: 2010 Boulder Weekly Contact: http://www.boulderweekly.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/57 COLO. LAWMAKERS SCALE BACK ON DRUG WAR It wasn't an admission that the war on drugs is a failure, but it was still significant. On Tuesday, March 23, the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of House Bill 1352, which would reduce sentences for drug use, possession and marijuanarelated crimes. The bill is designed to save the state about $50 billion on incarceration costs and to shift the emphasis from imprisonment to drugtreatment programs, which have proven to be more effective at helping people with drug addiction than a stint in prison. Hey, it's about bloody time. If we want to help drug addicts rather than simply punish them, prison isn't the answer. Treatment is. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom