EMBRACE HARM REDUCTION, NOT DRUG WAR

Editor:

Concerning "End the war on drugs" (Aspen Daily News, Nov. 25),
retired Denver police officer Tony Ryan is to be commended for
raising awareness of the drug war's collateral damage. 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 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With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun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 United States 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

Washington, D.C.