CORRUPTION ABOUNDS

Regarding Frio County sheriff convicted of drug conspiracy and stealing
federal funds: When are policymakers going to acknowledge the dangerous
levels of corruption engendered by the drug war?

This corruption reaches the highest levels. Entire countries have been
destabilized because of the corrupting influence of traffickers. Like
alcohol prohibition in the early 1900s, the drug war is causing tremendous
societal harm while failing miserably at preventing drug use.

Drug laws fuel organized crime and corruption, which is then used to
justify increased drug war spending. It's time to treat all substance
abuses -- legal or otherwise -- as the public health problem that they are.

ROBERT SHARPE

The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation

Washington, D.C.