THE BAN ON DRUGS IS WHAT GIVES PUSHERS THEIR OOMPH

If U.S. drug warriors succeed in their Sisyphean task of eradicating the
supply of coca in South America, domestic methamphetamine production will
boom to meet the demand (''The war on coca: How far will the U.S. go?''
International Business, Nov. 20). Thanks to successes at eradicating
marijuana overseas, a resulting increase in domestic cultivation has made
marijuana America's No. 1 cash crop. As long as there is a demand, there
will be a supply.

Destabilizing entire countries will not make America drug-free, but
sensible regulation could feasibly undermine the volatile black market. As
the most popular illicit drug, marijuana provides the contacts that
introduce Americans to harder drugs. This ''gateway'' is a direct result of
marijuana's illegal status, not the plant itself. Illegal drug dealers do
not I.D. for age, but they do push more profitable, addictive drugs such as
cocaine or heroin when given the chance.

Regulation is desperately needed to restrict access to drugs. As
counterintuitive as it may seem, replacing marijuana prohibition with
regulation would ultimately do a better job protecting children from drugs
than funding civil war in Colombia.

Robert Sharpe, Lindesmith Center -- Drug Policy Foundation Washington