Pubdate: Sun, 12 Jun 2011 Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) Copyright: 2011 PG Publishing Co., Inc. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/pm4R4dI4 Website: http://www.post-gazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/341 Author: Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n360/a01.html IT'S A FAILURE As Tony Norman's June 3 column ("Easy Up in Drug War? Smart But Unlikely") mentioned, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy immediately rejected the Global Commission on Drug Policy's call for reform and defended the "balanced drug control efforts" of the U.S. government. These "balanced" efforts have given the land of the free the highest incarceration rate in the world. Prohibition-related violence has caused upward of 35,000 deaths in Mexico over the past four years. Despite criminal penalties, the United States has higher rates of drug use than European countries like Portugal that have decriminalized. This country can no longer afford to throw good money after bad drug policy. ROBERT SHARPE Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.