ABUSE IS BAD, BUT WAR IS FAR WORSE

Dear Editor,

Re: "Ex-Cop Walks the Talk in Anti-Prohibition Effort" ["Reefer
Madness," News] Nov. 2 by Jordan Smith: Former Police Officer b of
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is to be commended for speaking
out against the War on Drugs. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal
drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability
of drug-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.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor-bootleggers no longer gun
one another down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind
drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. politicians ignore the
drug war's historical precedent, European countries are embracing
harm reduction, a public health alternative based on the principle
that both drug abuse and prohibition have the potential to cause harm.

Examples of harm reduction include needle-exchange programs to stop
the spread of HIV, marijuana regulation aimed at separating the hard-
and soft-drug markets, and treatment alternatives that do not require
incarceration as a prerequisite. Unfortunately, fear of appearing
"soft on crime" compels many U.S. politicians to support a failed
drug war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime. Drug abuse is
bad, but the drug war is worse.

Sincerely, Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy