DRUG WAR FUELS CRIME

Your Sept. 22 editorial makes the common mistake of confusing
drug-related crime with prohibition-related crime.

Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains
constant only increase the profitability of 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. The good news is
that Canada has adopted many of the common sense harm reduction
interventions pioneered in Europe. The bad news is that Canada's
southern neighbour continues to use its superpower status to export a
dangerous moral crusade around the globe.

The U.S. provides tragic examples of anti-drug strategies that are
best avoided. U.S. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate
that 57 per cent of AIDS cases among women and 36 per cent of overall
AIDS cases in the U.S. are linked to injection drug use or sex with
partners who inject drugs. This easily preventable public health
crisis is a direct result of zero tolerance laws that restrict access
to clean syringes. Can Canada afford to emulate the harm maximization
drug policies of the former land of the free and current record
holder in citizens incarcerated?

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC