TO THE EDITOR:
Thank you for making the case of substance abuse treatment in your editorial (""Money in the right place" Oct. 22). A study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that every additional dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal costs.
Additionally the drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure joblessness addiction and delinquency.
Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in anti-social behavior. It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin treating all substance abuse legal or otherwise as the public health problem it is.
Robert Sharpe
Common Sense for Drug Policy
Washington D.C.