LOOKING AT DRUG POLICY

Regarding "Cocaine trial ends with split verdict" (Florida Metro, June 30):

If you think it is good that "authorities have so far stopped 80 tons of
cocaine with a market value of $1.6 billion from entering the United
States," you are wrong on two counts.

First, the measure of a good drug bust is an increase in street price.
Since street prices have been falling steadily for 10 years, we must
conclude that drug interdiction has failed.

Second, this failure is a blessing. Higher drug prices drive off casual
users, who are no problem to society anyhow, and make addicts resort to
more property crime to buy at the higher price.

If this sounds odd to you, welcome to the world of drug prohibition, where
U.S. official policy is to spend taxpayer money to fight an illegal drug
market that would not exist were it not for that policy.

Don't expect a solution to this craziness to come from the same Congress
that continues to fund it. Instead, look to the Swiss, the Danes and the
Germans, all beginning to back off from U.S. anti-drug policy.

John Chase

Palm Harbor