U.S. WAR ON DRUGS ONLY FEEDS PROBLEMS IN COLOMBIA

Regarding the Dec. 17 article "Colombia crumbles," the Colombian
government's peace plan could very well spread both civil war and coca
production throughout the region.

Communist guerrilla movements do not originate in a vacuum. U.S. tax
dollars would be better spent addressing the underlying causes of civil
strife rather than applying overwhelming military force to attack the
symptoms. Forcing the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to
the bargaining table at gunpoint will not remedy Colombia's societal
inequities.

We're not doing the Colombian people any favors by funding civil war. Nor
are we protecting Americans from drugs. Cut off the flow of cocaine and
domestic methamphetamine production will boom to meet the demand for
cocaine-type drugs.

Rather than waste resources attempting to overcome immutable laws of supply
and demand, policy-makers should look to the lessons learned from America's
disastrous experiment with alcohol prohibition. The drug war finances
organized crime, while failing miserably at preventing use.

With organized crime comes corruption, to which the United States is not
immune. The former commander of U.S. anti-drug operations in Colombia was
found guilty of laundering the profits of his wife's heroin-smuggling
operation.

Entire countries have been destabilized because of the corrupting influence
of organized-crime groups that profit from the illegal drug trade. Drug
laws fuel crime and corruption, which is then used to justify increased
drug-war spending. It's time to end this madness and start treating all
substance abuse - legal or otherwise - as the public health problem it is.

Robert Sharpe, Program officer, Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation
Washington