LOSING THE WAR ON DRUGS

Regarding Orlando Patterson's article, "The other losing war,"
(Views, Jan. 16): Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while
demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug
trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street
prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed
desperate habits. The U.S. drug war does not fight crime, it fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed in 1933, liquor bootleggers no
longer gun each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do American
consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin.

While U.S. politicians ignore the drug war's historical precedent,
European countries are embracing harm reduction, a public-health
alternative based on the principle that both drug abuse and
prohibition have the potential to cause harm.

Examples of harm reduction include needle-exchange programs to stop
the spread of HIV, marijuana regulation aimed at separating the hard
and soft drug markets, and treatment alternatives that do not require
incarceration as a prerequisite. Unfortunately, fear of appearing
"soft on crime" compels many U.S. politicians to support a failed
drug war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime.

Robert Sharpe

Washington