JUST SAY YES

IN HIS DEFENSE OF THE DRUG WAR, John P. Walters ignores basic economic
principles ("Drug Wars," March 5). Our tax dollars are being wasted on a
Sisyphean task. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs, while
demand remains constant, only increases drug trafficking profits. Such
efforts are tantamount to price supports for organized crime. It's time to
stop wasting the taxpayer's money on drug policies that do more harm than good.

Drug prohibition is used to justify drug war spending. There are
cost-effective alternatives. 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 has proven more effective than zero tolerance. As
the most popular illicit drug in America, marijuana provides the black
market contacts that introduce users to hard drugs. This "gateway" is the
direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Given that marijuana is
arguably safer than alcohol, it makes no sense to perpetuate policies that
spread HIV (through syringe sharing), finance organized crime, and
facilitate the use of drugs like heroin. Sadly for Americans, our leaders
are more prone to counterproductive preaching than cost-effective pragmatism.