Perspectives on Drug Prohibition

A DESTRUCTIVE AND IMMORAL POLICY

As a retired police detective from the USA, I thank you for publishing
Johann Hari's analysis of drug prohibition (11 June).

During my 18 years in the trenches of this destructive, dysfunctional
and immoral policy, I witnessed part of the one trillion dollars spent
so far to make my country "drug-free". As my colleagues spent their
shifts in pursuit of a baggie of cannabis, drunk drivers were freer to
slaughter tens of thousands of innocents. When detectives are flying
around in helicopters looking for green plants, the paedophiles in the
chat room have an easier time of making contact with our
13-year-olds.

Privately many police officers will admit that drug prohibition
increases crime and reduces public safety. Scotland Yard's Detective
Chief Superintendent Eddie Ellison (RIP) was among the first UK "top
cops" to speak plainly in public. It is past time for them to follow
his courageous lead.

Howard Wooldridge

Washington DC