Matthew B. Stannard

In the following viewpoint, Matthew B. Stannard argues that the war on drugs is a failure. More Americans are using illegal drugs than ever before, and as a result, more people are arrested and imprisoned for illegal drug use than any other crime. Stannard contends that the solution to illegal drug use is not to imprison drug users but to provide treatment for them. Stannard, a former reporter for the Oakland Tribune, now writes for the San Francisco Chronicle.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to the author, how many people are incarcerated in U.S. prisons?
2. What newly popular drug have more users taken up despite the war on drugs, according to Stannard?
3. According to Joseph McNamara, why is the government’s National Strategy for Drug Control a failure"

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