DRUG WAR FUELS CRIME

The efforts of Hartford police to clean up drug dealing in the North End
are 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 heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase
criminal activity to feed desperate habits. Make no mistake, the drug war
doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. There are lessons to be learned from
America's disastrous experiment with alcohol Prohibition during the early
1900s. The drug war effectively subsidizes organized crime, while failing
miserably at preventing use. The alcohol Prohibition was repealed in 1933
amid concerns that the black market was not only financing organized crime,
but also exposing minors to liquor at levels previously unheard of. Like
modern-day drug dealers, the infamous mobsters of the 1920s and 1930s did
not ID customers for age.

There are cost-effective alternatives to a never-ending drug war. Taxing
and regulating marijuana, the most popular illicit drug, would close the
gateway to hard drugs.

Pot's black market status forces marijuana smokers to come into contact
with criminals who push harder drugs.

The lack of age controls makes it easier for kids to buy pot than beer.
This is a recipe for disaster. Sooner or later policymakers are going to
have to acknowledge the drug war's inherent failure.

Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a
youth-oriented black market.

Ironically, fear of appearing "soft on crime" compels many politicians to
support a flawed policy that ultimately subsidizes organized crime and
fails miserably at protecting children from drugs.

Robert Sharpe

Washington

The writer is program officer for the Lindesmith Center Drug Policy
Foundation, a Washington based organization that is working to broaden and
better inform the public debate on drug policy.