The Nation : Prosecutors Cool to ‘Zero Tolerance’

Zero tolerance anti-drug policies are less than a hit with the nation’s local prosecutors, according to a survey by the National Law Journal. Nearly 75% of the prosecutors polled rejected the policy as an important law enforcement tool. A fourth believe that marijuana should be decriminalized, and almost two-thirds of prosecutors believe their efforts are having little or no impact in reducing the supply of illegal drugs or increasing their street prices. The survey was based on telephone questioning of 181 chief prosecutors or their top narcotics deputies in every state--the officials who prosecute the bulk of the nation’s narcotics cases.