Pubdate: Wed, 08 May 2013
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2013 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Ken Abraham

WAREHOUSING ADDICTS A WASTE

Dwight D. Eisenhower, mastermind of D-Day, wrote that, "Every gun ... 
made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the 
final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who 
are cold and not clothed." To that, I would add that every addict 
warehoused in prison, every alcoholic locked behind bars instead of 
treated, every dollar spent on our dysfunctional prisons instead of 
warning the public of the true dangers of drugs (most crime is 
drug-related) is a theft of people's potential, a distraction of 
valuable police resources, a waste of talented lawyers' time, and a 
senseless plundering of citizens' tax dollars.

Let us truly reform what has become a prison-industrial complex by 
addressing effectively the thorn in the criminal-justice system: the 
so-called war on drugs - one costly, misguided, and hugely failed 
policy. Parnershipfordrugfree.org offers the sensible solution.

Ken Abraham, former Delaware deputy attorney general, Dover,  ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom