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This advertisement appeared in the National Review, the The New Republic, the American Prospect, the Weekly Standard, The Nation, Reason Magazine and The Progressive in the summer of 2002.

In the mid 1980s Congress abolished parole and passed harsh drug sentencing laws. Many states followed, creating a tenfold increase in the number of drug offenders incarcerated.1 If prisoners were able to earn earlier release: Incentives toward cooperation, study, and learning skills would create a safer environment for staff and prisoners alike. Families could be reunited earlier, with better prospects for successful reentry into society. High costs of incarcerating drug offenders -- $9.4 billion annually2 -- would be dramatically reduced. Inhuman prison overcrowding would be redressed. The federal system is already 31% over capacity, and is growing at more than 9% annually -- the equivalent of a prison a month to keep overcrowding from growing worse.3 Prisons would less likely be breeding grounds for extremists and terrorists.4 Isn't Rewarding Achievement The American Way? Kevin B. Zeese, President, Common Sense for Drug Policy 3220 N Street NW #141, Washington, DC 20007 202-299-9780 -- 202-518-4028 (fax) www.csdp.org -- www.DrugWarFacts.org -- www.AddictInTheFamily.org info@csdp.org 1 Beck, Alan J., Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1999, Washington, DC: Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, April 2000; Maguire, Kathleen, and Ann L. Pastore, eds., Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 1998, Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1998. 2 Profile of Jail Inmates 1996, Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, April 1996, pp. 1, 4; Prisoners in 1996, Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997, pp. 10-11; Camp, George M., and Camille Graham Camp, The Corrections Yearbook 1998, Middletown, CT: Criminal Justice Institute, 1999. 3 US Dept. of Justice, "An analysis of nonviolent drug offenders with minimal criminal histories: Executive summary," US Dept. of Justice, Feb. 4, 1994, p. 13. "Since the end of 1988, when the full impact of these new laws was realized, the prison population has grown by an average of over 650 inmates per month, or enough to fill one medium size institution with each new month." 4 Thomas, Cal, "Radical Recruiting in US Prisons," Lancaster (PA) New Era, June 22, 2002; Young, Russell L., "Prison Revolts Foster Reform," Crime & Justice International, Vol. 17, No. 53, June 2001, pp. 9-10; Fleisher, Mark S., PhD, and Scott H. Decker, PhD, "Overview of the Challenge of Prison Gangs," Corrections Management Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2001, pp. 1-9.

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		Introduction Supreme Court Justice Questions Marijuana Policy Meet the Drug War Winners and Losers Iraq Vets Victims of the Drug War A Letter to Mom The Blue Ribbon Report Richard Nixon Chose to Bury Good News for Doctors and Pain Patients The Man Who Gave Us the Drug War The Devil Weed and Harry Anslinger Why Not Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Is It Sound Policy to Jail Expectant Mothers A Riveting 12-Minute Documentary Mexico Is Becoming the Next Colombia Suffering from Chronic Pain Another Drug Baby Media Scare Methamphetamine Crisis - Hype Or Fact They're telling the Attorney General to butt out How can judges and jurors dispense justice and mercy without relevant information? Urine drug testing fails at school and work Isn't rewarding achievement the American way? Are we addicted to drug war money? Who says we are winning the drug war? Shafer Commission 30th Anniversary The public is saying 'No More Drug War!' Now we are in a real war . . . isn't it time to abandon the war on ourselves? Is the funding of terrorism another unintended consequence of drug prohibition? Should Coerced Treatment Replace Prison For First Time, Non-Violent Drug Offenders? Change of Tune on drug policy? UK Police End Cannabis Seizures White Kids Use and Sell, Black Kids Go To Prison Time for the Government to Provide Safe Access to Medical Marijuana Annual Causes of Deaths in the US Pregnant Women: Drug War Casualties? Bush Offers Hope Clinton Interview Drug Czar Wanted Voting Rights Drug Courts A Real War in Colombia? What We Know About Ecstasy How We Judge a Fallen Hero Crooked Cops Findings of the British Police Foundation Just Say Not Guilty? The More We Escalate, The More Die Protecting Kids? What Should We Tell Our Kids? Happy Valentine's Day? McCaffrey Resign Drug Problem in Perspective Ending the Drug War Is Popular Time to admit the War on Drugs has failed Mandatory Sentencing is Bad Controlled Access to Heroin Do Drug Laws Focus on the Dangerous Drugs? Arizona Stops Jailing Drug Users We Are Deeply Troubled A Police View on the War on Drugs Dutch Drug Policy Even More Effective Treatment More Effective Than Enforcement It's as Simple as 123 Has the Drug Czar Bought the Media? Compromising Integrity and Prestige? Constitution a Victim of the Drug War? Marijuana Myths/Marijuana Facts Dutch Drug Policy Works Pinocchio McCaffrey