THE FAILED DRUG WAR ACTUALLY FUELS CRIME

The work of the FIVCO Area Drug Enforcement Task Force is no doubt
well-intended but ultimately counterproductive. Attempts to limit the
supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the
profitability of drug trafficking.

In terms of addictive drugs like meth, a spike in street prices leads
desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits.
The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. FADE's use of tax dollars
to fund undercover drug buys is a questionable use of scarce resources.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor producers no longer gun each
other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind drinking
unregulated bathtub gin.

The crime, corruption and overdose deaths attributed to drugs are all
direct results of drug prohibition. Drug policies designed to protect
children have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Unlike
legitimate businesses that sell liquor, drug dealers do not ID for age.

In Europe, the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by
replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation. Dutch rates of drug use
are significantly lower than U.S. rates in every category. Separating the
hard and soft drug markets and establishing age controls for marijuana have
proven more effective than zero tolerance.

Although marijuana is relatively harmless compared to alcohol - pot has
never been shown to cause an overdose death - marijuana prohibition is
deadly. As the most popular illicit drug, marijuana provides the black
market contacts that introduce consumers to hard drugs like meth.

This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy.
Taxing and regulating marijuana is a cost-effective alternative to spending
tens of billions annually on a failed drug war.

Robert Sharpe
Program Officer
The Lindesmith Center
Drug Policy Foundation
Washington, D.C.