Harrison Narcotics Act Still Fostering Violence, Addiction 100 Years Later

http://www.hemp.org/news/node/4478

In 1940, Indiana University psychologist Professor Alfred R. Lindesmith echoed his predecessors, “Solemn discussions are carried on about lengthening the addict’s already long sentence and as to whether or not he is a good parole risk. The basic question as to why he should be sent to prison at all is scarcely mentioned.

“Eventually, it is to be hoped that we shall come to see…that the punishment and imprisonment of addicts is as cruel and pointless as similar treatment for persons infected with syphilis would be,” Lindesmith wrote. “The treatment of addicts in the United States today is on no higher plane than the persecution of witches of other ages, and like the latter it is to be hoped that it will soon become merely another dark chapter of history.”