ATTEMPTS TO LIMIT DRUG SUPPLY ONLY INCREASES PROFITABILITY OF
TRAFFICKING

The work of the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force is no doubt
well-intended, but ultimately counterproductive. Attempts to limit the
supply of illegal drugs, while demand remains constant, only increases
the profitability of drug trafficking.

For addictive drugs like methamphetamine, a spike in street prices
leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed
desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun
each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do 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. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe,

Common Sense for Drug Policy,

Arlington, Va.