DRUG POLICY IS NOT PRODUCTIVE

According to your Jan. 29 article, Arkansas spent $519 million on the
state's drug problem in 1998, with prison accounting for the largest
expenditures. There are cost-effective alternatives to the politically
popular zero-tolerance approach.

The Netherlands spends far less per capita on drug abuse, yet Dutch
marijuana use is roughly half that of the U.S. and hard drug use is even
less because the Dutch separated the hard and soft drug markets and
establishing controls for age. Replacing marijuana prohibition with
regulation would ultimately do a better job protecting American children
from drugs than the failed drug war.

Marijuana is the most popular illicit drug. Compared to alcohol, marijuana
is relatively harmless. Yet marijuana prohibition is deadly. Although there
is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to try hard drugs like
meth, its black market status puts users in contact with criminals who push
them.

With no age controls, the thriving black market is very much
youth-oriented. Sensible regulation is needed to undermine the black market
and restrict access to drugs.

Unfortunately for Americans, our leaders are more prone to
counterproductive preaching than cost-effective pragmatism.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Robert Sharpe is program officer for the Lindesmith
Center-Drug Policy Foundation.)