U.S. CONTINUES DOWN WRONG PATH REGARDING DRUG USE, PREVENTION

You might be interested to know: the United States has 5 percent of the
world's population - but 25 percent of the world's prison population.

Today, one in 32 adults in America are in correctional supervision - 3.1
percent of the adult population. In 1985, 16.3 percent of the total prison
population was drug related. Today, with a serious "drug war"
effort/expense, we now have a prison population that is 56 percent drug
related. In spite of more than 700,000 drug-related Americans in jail, and
more than 1.6 million marijuana arrests in 2001, the drugs are flowing as
freely as ever.

Our youth can more easily purchase "illicit" drugs than legal, but
regulated, tobacco and alcohol. Our prisons teem with drugs. Our total
prisoner incidence is 699 per 100,000 population. In China it is 103 per
100,000, in Europe on average it is less than 100. We have more prisoners
in jails for drug-related crime than all Europe for all crimes combined,
and they have 100 million more citizens.

George W. Bush's compassionate conservatism created a 5.0 percent
correctional supervision rate in Texas (one in 20 adults). In Bob Barr's
Georgia, 6.8 percent of adults are in correctional supervision. These
numbers reflect a significant disproportion of people of color and poverty
feeling the brunt of the law.

The difference in Europe is a different approach to drug use. Europeans
feel that police, courts, prisons and social services are very expensive.
Arresting and jailing people who use drugs to feel better, is just too
expensive.

Let's look at Holland, where cannabis cafes sell small amounts of marijuana
in a regulated market. The Dutch recognize that some people will use drugs
in spite of serious penalties, and believe in promoting responsible drug
use, just as we currently promote responsible alcohol consumption. When
softer drugs such as marijuana are readily available to people who want to
"feel better," they are in fact less likely to resort to harder drugs.

For example: tobacco use in Holland compared to the United States is 34.3
percent versus 29.6 percent for the past month respectively. Cannabis use,
in Holland versus USA: 2.5 percent versus 5.1 percent for the past month.
******* use, Holland versus USA: 0.2 percent versus 0.7 percent for the
past month. ****** use, Holland versus USA: 0.1 percent versus 0.3 percent.
Inhalant use in Holland versus USA: 0.1 percent versus 1.1 percent for the
past year.

Alcohol use is actually higher in Holland than in the U.S., 73.3 percent
versus 51.4 percent for the past month. Murder rates in Holland compared to
the U.S., 1.8 versus 8.22 per 100,000 population. ****** addicts in Holland
compared to the U.S., 1.8 versus 8.22 per 100,000 population. Correctional
supervision rates have increased dramatically in Holland in the last 15
years, from 35 to 65 per 100,000. In the U.S., our correctional supervision
rate in 1985 was 313 per 100,000.

The Dutch experience clearly shows that marijuana is not a gateway drug,
can be used responsibly, and actually results in decreased use of harder
drugs, even among youth.

The average sentence for first-time federal drug offenders compared to
other offenses is quite illuminating: drugs, 78 months; firearms 69 months;
sexual abuse 68 months; assault 28 months; manslaughter 30 months;
burglary, breaking and entering 24 months; auto theft 20 months.

The percentage of people addicted to *******, ****** and opium in the U.S.
in 1903 was 0.28 percent. Today, in spite of all the incarceration,
interdiction, eradication and $40 billion in expense per year, the
addiction rate to the same drugs is 0.98 percent. This increase does not
include drugs that were not available in 1903 but today are commonly used
legally by addicts, such as valium, codeine, hydrocodone and others. Drug
use has been with us for a very long time. In spite of severe penalties,
use continues, and even increases

These numbers are available online at
http://corporatism.tripod.com/charts2.htm.

Professor Craig Reinarman of Holland has written a book called Crack in
America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice that also outlines most of these
facts. He further states that the Dutch and many other civilized countries
feel the U.S. proselytizes an expensive failure of drug policy imperialism
all over the world, and they are resentful.

I wrote to all our state legislators, Monroe County Court judges, local
city council and mayor, asking them to save money, salvage the state budget
and quit jailing pot heads. A vast majority of Americans think they should
not be in jail. If our elected officials feel they need punishment, levy
some type of reasonable civil fine, and have them waste their own money,
not my hard-earned tax dollars on expensive courts and jails.


Pubdate: Mon, 07 Jan 2002
Source: Herald-Times, The (IN)
Copyright: 2002 The Hearld-Times
Contact: letters@heraldt.com
Website: http://www.hoosiertimes.com/mv-to-top/index-ht.php3
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1498
Author: Clark Brittain
Note: Clark Brittain is a Bloomington doctor