Pubdate: 16 Feb 1999 Source: Dayton Daily News (OH) Contact: http://www.activedayton.com/partners/ddn/ Forum: http://www.activedayton.com/entertainment/forums_chat/ Section: Health Briefs TOUGHER LAWS FAIL TO STEM US OF DRUGS Increased enforcement of drug laws and stiffer penalties do not deter the use of marijuana and other drugs, research by the American Bar Association has found. The ABA found an 18 percent increase from 1992 to '97 in people who used drugs within the last month even though federal funding, arrests and incarceration rates were at all-time highs. The report, The State of Criminal Justice, also showed nearly 80 percent of the increase in drug arrests for those five years were for possession rather than dealing. - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski