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FAILED DRUG WAR

Kentucky is one of many states grappling with overcrowded prisons.  Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders.  A study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that every additional dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal costs.

There is far more at stake than tax dollars.  The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us believe.  Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency.  Not only do the children lose out, but society as a whole does, too.  Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in antisocial behavior.

Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of tax dollars.  It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is.  Destroying the futures and families of citizens who make unhealthy choices doesn't benefit anyone.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington 20012