THE OTHER WAR WITHOUT END ( ACLU speaks out on Randy Brush
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THE OTHER WAR WITHOUT END
Although I am still getting over the shock that Ohio's drug laws are woefully behind the times despite common sense and mounting scientific evidence, I did find Dan Harkins' article ("Just What the Doctor Ordered," January 24) to be very insightful about the aftermath of the war on drugs.
Most disturbing were the stories like that of Randy Brush and others who have been smoked by law enforcement over possession of a few plants for treatment of medical conditions.
This false and increasingly futile war has claimed a variety of victims in recent years. Under the great wisdom of the government, an increasing number of women have been sentenced to extraordinary amounts of jail time for simply living with or driving around someone else who was selling drugs.
Now, as our great leaders want us to "stay the course" on the war on drugs, a consultant with the state has announced that the Ohio prison population will rise by 37 percent in the next 10 years and that most of the increase will be women from rural counties where there are no alternative programs for them other than jail.
That's not even to mention the problems that the brain trusts in power have visited on minority communities with inconsistent enforcement and students with restrictions on federal aid to go to school if they have a drug conviction.
Not only is Ohio and the nation due for an overhaul on our policies toward medical marijuana, but we need to change our tactics on this pointless and damaging war on drugs.
Mike Brickner
Communications Coordinator
American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio
THE OTHER WAR WITHOUT END ( ACLU leader speaks out on Randy Brush
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