DRUG PROHIBITION INCREASES VIOLENCE

Re "Calderon's war," Opinion, Jan. 16

Denise Dresser has it all wrong. Drug trafficking did not spawn
Mexico's organized crime networks. Just like alcohol prohibition gave
rise to Al Capone, drug prohibition created the violent
drug-trafficking organizations blamed for killing 1,500 people a year
in Mexico. From a political perspective, Mexican President Felipe
Calderon stands to benefit from the violence. The drug war is
perpetuated by the mainstream media's complicity in refusing to put
so-called drug-related crime in context. U.S. politicians have proved
particularly adept at confusing the drug war's collateral damage with
drugs themselves. Drug prohibition funds organized crime at home and
terrorism abroad, which is then used to justify increasing drug war
spending. It's time to end this madness.

ROBERT SHARPE

Washington DC

The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy.