Montana Meth Project Founder Calls U.S. Drug Policy 'Crazy' July 23, 2007
News Summary
Tom Siebel, the millionaire who is underwriting the oft-praised Montana Meth Project, said that the U.S. spends too much money on imprisoning drug users and not enough on treatment and prevention, the Great Falls Tribune reported July 20.
"It used to be that we put people in jail who we were scared of. Now we put people in jail we're mad at," said Siebel, who called U.S. drug policy "a little bit crazy."
Siebel called prison "a graduate program in drug distribution."
"It's easy to fund jails," Siebel said. "It's not so easy to fund prevention programs, treatment programs and counseling."
The remarks came as Siebel called on Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath to provide more funding for the anti-meth project. The Montana legislature has allocated $1 million for the project, and the Siebel Foundation is set to match up to $5 million in donations; so far, corporate and private sources have raised $500,000.
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