FAILED DRUG WAR

Stanley Crouch's April 28 column ["Today's version of Prohibition is
just as bad for America"] was right on target. Attempts to limit the
supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase
the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs such as
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With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun
down each other 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. Unfortunately, fear of appearing "soft on crime"
compels many politicians to support a failed drug war that ultimately
subsidizes organized crime.

Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C.