RISING PROFITABILITY

The US drug war is a threat to global stability. Afghanistan profits
from the illicit heroin trade because of drug prohibition, not in
spite of it. Attempts to limit the supply of drugs while demand
remains constant only increases the profitability of drug trafficking.

The various armed factions waging civil war in Colombia are
financially dependent on the US drug war. Here, the distortion of
immutable laws of supply and demand make an easily grown weed like
cannabis worth its weight in gold. Drug prohibition finances
organised crime at home and terrorism abroad, which is then used to
justify increased drug war spending. It's time to end this madness
and instead treat all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the
public health problem it is.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington