Mad about meth

The Christian Science Monitor has a piece on the "meth epidemic" that will should be posted here at MAP by tomorrow.

It continues the ongoing theme of rank and file disappointment with the White House and Walters' apparent failure to take concerted action against "this plague." Disturbingly, the dissenters are taking the classic election year "tough on crime" stance, calling for increased penalities and coersion of supplier countries with international mandates, and creating yet more bureaucracy to fight this "scourge."

Jeez, how many times does a policy have to fail before these people get that it doesn't work? Being that it was in the CSM, I took a moment to send a quick LTE. It doesn't have a snowball in hell's chance of being printed, but here it is.

Congressional concern with meth use is warranted but the proposed solutions won't solve the problem. Relying on the failed War on Drugs model of stricter sentencing and penalizing supplier countries hasn't stopped cocaine or heroin and it won't eliminate US drug use, nor will it alleviate spiraling incarceration costs.

The fiscally responsible solution is to legalize and regulate use, as we do with alcohol. Controlled distribution and treatment programs would work. Penalites and prohibition doesn't.

I might have said more, but you only get 200 words.

Update: Visit Drug Policy Alliance for a click and send letter to your Congressperson asking them to shoot down Souter's ridiculous new bill that calls for 10 year mandatory sentences for a weekend's worth of meth. Even if you don't approve of meth use, (and I don't) this is not the way to solve the problem of abuse.