DRUG ABUSE IS BAD, WAR ON DRUGS IS A LOT WORSE

Harm reduction is based on the principle that both drug abuse and
enforcement have the potential to cause harm. In the case of widely
used illicit drugs like marijuana, the short-term health effects of
marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of
criminal records. If harsh penalties deterred illicit drug use,
Canada's southern neighbour would be a "drugfree" America. The U.S.
drug war has done little other give the Land of the Free the highest
incarceration rate in the world.

It's possible to reduce the harms of drug abuse without criminalizing
users. Thanks to public education efforts, legal tobacco use has
declined considerably in recent years, without any need to criminalize
tobacco smokers. Apparently mandatory minimum prison sentences, civil
asset forfeiture, random drug testing and racial profiling are not the
most cost-effective means of discouraging unhealthy choices. Drug
abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC