HERE'S WHY THE DRUG WAR ISN'T WORKING

There's an old saying: "There are none so blind as those who will not
see." This comes to mind when we read news reports about expanding the
international drug war. Check out two recent stories from Colombia.

The first was a U.N. report which noted that despite record-setting
eradication measures in 2005, the country's coca production increased
8 percent. A day later, Colombian Interior Minister Sabas Pretelt said
that despite the U.N. report, aerial spraying should be stepped up.

Aerial spraying to kill coca crops is the cornerstone of the drug war
in Colombia, the largest producer of cocaine used in the United
States. The program is a joint effort between Colombia and the United
States and is part of Plan Colombia, a drug interdiction project that
has cost U.S. taxpayers $4 billion since 2000.

A report from the Office of National Drug Control Policy in April also
found that the area under coca cultivation had grown, despite the
spraying. So here we have two reports in recent months clearly showing
that what we're doing in Colombia isn't working -- and the plan is to
throw even more money at the problem!

Actually, the main problem isn't that the aerial eradication program
isn't successful. It's that the drug war itself is failing. Born of
the flawed idea that if drug users have trouble obtaining drugs,
they'll stop using, the drug war has been going on for decades with
little success. That's not to say law enforcement officials haven't
done their jobs. Big drug busts occur regularly. But for every pound
of illegal drugs confiscated, many more get through to U.S. users.

Police are fighting a losing battle because the drug war ignores
economics and common sense.

Making a substance illegal doesn't make it go away; it merely
increases the price. Higher prices mean more profits. Suppliers risk
jail and violence to get those profits. Those risks demand even higher
prices and profits to make supplying drugs worthwhile. The drug war
hasn't stopped the flow of drugs into this country or prevented users
from getting them. And it has increased property and violent crime
rates as users steal to get money to support their habits.

If officials are serious about reducing crime and drug use, they
should curtail their efforts to keep consumers from getting what they
want. Decriminalization of drugs would remove the risk suppliers now
face, which would lower prices. That would, in turn, lead to a
decrease in robberies and burglaries because users wouldn't need as
much money to buy their drugs.

That's not to say such crimes would disappear. They've always been
with us because not all crimes are a result of drug use.

The easy availability of illegal drugs in the United States is proof
the drug war isn't working, despite the billions we spend on it every
year. According the Web site of Action America, a group working to end
the drug war, government budget documents show the feds plan to spend
more than $20 billion on the drug war this year. And that doesn't
include the costs of prosecution and prisons for those who run afoul
of drug laws. The total costs of the drug war are much higher -- and
represent a steep price for a policy that's not working.