Decriminalization

DR. NEIL SOLOMON'S argument against the decriminalization of drugs (Other Voices, Feb. 18) was way off the mark.Dr. Solomon, who heads Governor Schaefer's drug and alcohol commission, acknowledges that "old approaches" aren't working, and he calls for "new approaches." He then goes on to denigrate any form of decriminalization -- completely ignoring the much greater social cost of such legal drugs as tobacco and alcohol. Then Dr. Solomon completely contradicts his own acknowledgment that "old approaches" don't work by calling for more of the same old impotent enforcement and punishment.

WHEN I accepted the chairmanship of the Governor's Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission, I was convinced that new approaches were needed to combat the drug and alcohol problems in Maryland.Obviously, if the old approaches had been working, we would not be confronting such a serious problem. Particularly frightening is the younger age of those involved in the distribution and sale of illegal drugs. When children not yet old enough for school are taken into custody for peddling drugs, something is very seriously wrong.

Legalization won't end our drug problemP. Pugh's letter, "How we can win the war against drugs" (Dec. 20), correctly states that I recognize the drug problem in Maryland as a public health problem. However, the letter says we need to "get on with" dispensing of the "more harmful narcotic drugs" under medical auspices and the decriminalization of simple possession of marijuana. This could not be farther from my position on solving our drug abuse problems.Legalization and decriminalization will only exacerbate the current problem.

If Kurt Schmoke's re-election campaign seems a little dull to you, that's because it's supposed to be.This campaign is dull by design.The Schmoke strategy has been to conduct a low-key campaign emphasizing meetings between Schmoke and the electorate, not a high-profile campaign designed to attract the attention of the news media.Schmoke can afford commercials, so he doesn't need to be on the nightly news or on the front page. Especially since he knows how most politicians end up on the nightly news or on the front page:The three things that get you in the news are mistakes, attacks and polls.

WASHINGTON -- Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke has told proponents of drug decriminalization that there has been a "glimpse of progress" in the movement to steer the nation's anti-drug policies away from arrests and toward treatment and prevention of drug abuse."

ANNAPOLIS -- Decriminalization of minor drug use is an option in the war against drugs that is worth discussing, the state's top law enforcement officer, Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr., said yesterday.The view was quickly denounced by Mr. Curran's Republican opponent for attorney general. A spokesman for Edward L. Blanton said the issue of drug decriminalization should not even be put on the table. He added that Mr. Curran, a Democrat, should be ashamed of himself for even suggesting such an idea.