No, Benton County does not need a new jail. Health care for all, better funding for the library and for schools, more food security, yes, but a new jail, no.
The majority of people incarcerated by Benton County are there for drug crimes, so the answer is to legalize drugs. Prohibition did not work for alcohol, and it does not work for drugs.
During Prohibition, crime surrounding alcohol sales was rampant as the price of alcohol rose, and only criminals would dare sell it.
The war on drugs has similarly created rampant crime by making the profit for drug sales so very great. Legalize drugs, and the incentive to crime drops dramatically.
The regulated sale of drugs in a legal, ordinary store at reasonable prices would take away the need for addicts to steal and burglarize to support their habit, and take away the incentive for disadvantaged young men to enter a life of crime via selling drugs.
The money saved by ending the war on drugs by cities, counties, states and the federal government would be great enough to provide drug treatment centers, education and disincentives and have plenty left over to fund the programs that really benefit society.
No, we don’t need a new jail; we need to legalize drugs.
Molly Hannah, Corvallis
