DRUG WAR

Zero-Tolerance Not An Effective Stance

According to the Jan. 30 article, "Drugs take big bite of state budget,"
annual state spending on America's drug problem is a whopping $30.7
billion. Missouri spends roughly $254 per person.

There are cost-effective alternatives to the 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. How
did the Netherlands accomplish this?

By separating the hard and soft drug markets and establishing controls for
age. The U.S. could learn from the Dutch experience. 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 legal alcohol,
marijuana is relatively harmless. Yet marijuana prohibition is deadly.
Although there is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to try
hard drugs, its black market status puts users in contact with criminals
who push them. Current drug policy is effectively a gateway policy. With no
controls for age, the thriving black market is very much youth-oriented.

Sensible regulation is desperately 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.

Robert Sharpe