DRUG WAR IS FLAWED

Dear Editor:

Regarding the Feb. 16 editorial on methamphetamine: Meth is the
latest dangerous drug to be making headlines throughout America, but
it won't be the last until policy makers acknowledge the drug war's
inherent failure.

Drug policies designed to protect children have given rise to a
youth-oriented black market.

Unlike legitimate businesses that sell alcohol, illegal drug dealers
do not ID for age, but they do push addictive drugs like meth. There
are cost-effective alternatives to the failed drug war. Despite
dramatically lower per capita spending on the drug problem, the
Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing
marijuana prohibition with regulation.

Separating the hard and soft drug markets and establishing controls
for age has proven more effective than zero tolerance. Dutch rates of
drug use are significantly lower than U.S. rates in every category.
As the most popular illicit drug in America, marijuana provides the
black market contacts that introduce users to hard drugs. The
"gateway" status ascribed to marijuana 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 finance
organized crime and facilitate the use of drugs like meth.
Unfortunately for Americans, our leaders are more prone to
counterproductive preaching than cost-effective pragmatism.

A dated comparison of Dutch vs. American rates of drug use can be
found at: http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/c_drugstat.html

More recent figures can be found at:

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A. Program Officer The Lindesmith Center-Drug
Policy Foundation http://www.drugpolicy.org Washington, DC