DRUG POLICY DOESN'T WORK

Regarding "Freighters ran coke for cartel" (Nation/World, Aug. 27):

It's heartening to hear U.S. Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly
acknowledge that we're never going to seize or arrest our way out of the
drug problem. Perhaps drug warriors are finally getting wise to the
futility of their efforts. 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 in the early 1900s.

When the supply of addictive drugs such as cocaine is limited while demand
remains constant, drug trafficking becomes more profitable. Granted, bad
people were arrested as a result of the recent busts, but with drug dealing
made more lucrative, someone will inevitably step in to reap the profits.
In the short term, drug prices are higher, which means desperate addicts
increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war
effectively fuels crime, while tailing miserably at protecting children
from drugs.

Because drug dealers don't IDs for age, children have an easier time buying
marijuana than beer. The most effective means of destroying the
international drug trade is the legalization of marijuana for adults. To
maintain criminal sanctions for a plant that is arguably safer than alcohol
puts children at risk. While there is nothing inherent in marijuana that
compels users to try harder drugs, its black-market status puts users in
contact with criminals who push them.

Current drug policy is effectively a gateway policy. Regulation is
desperately needed to undermine the volatile black market and restrict
access to drugs.

The writer is with Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.