FUELING VIOLENCE

The Dec. 17 editorial on the need to reform draconian drug laws was right on
target. It's ironic that a fear of being labeled soft on crime compels
politicians to buy into the big lie the drug war actually makes America
safer. When the supply of addictive drugs is successfully limited while
demand remains constant, drug trafficking becomes more profitable. The
obscene profits to be made guarantee replacement dealers. In the short-term,
drug prices are higher -- which means desperate addicts increase criminal
activity to feed desperate habits. Those who get caught are placed in
prisons that serve to transmit violent habits and values rather than reduce
them.

With organized crime comes corruption. The high-profile Los Angeles Police
Department Rampart scandal is but one example. This insidious corruption
stretches from coast to coast and reaches the highest levels. 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 due to the corrupting influence of
organized crime groups that profit from the illegal drug trade.

Drug laws fuel organized crime and violence, 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, Washington, D.C.