EUROPEANS KNOW DRUG ABUSE IS AN ILLNESS, NOT A CRIME

Europe has a drug problem, and knows it. But the Europeans' approach
to it is quite different from the North American "war on drugs."

I spend 120 days a year in Europe as a travel writer, so I decided to
see for myself how it's working. I talked with locals, researched
European drug policies and even visited a smoky marijuana "coffee
shop" in Amsterdam. I got a close look at the alternative to a war on drugs.

Europeans are well aware of the North American track record against
illegal drug use.

Since Richard Nixon first declared the war on drugs in 1971, the U.S.
has locked up millions of its citizens and spent hundreds of billions
of dollars (many claim that if incarceration costs are figured in, a
trillion dollars) waging this "war."

Despite these efforts, U.S. government figures show the overall rate
of illicit drug use has remained about the same.

By contrast, according to the 2007 United Nations World Drug Report,
the percentage of Europeans who use illicit drugs is about half that
of North Americans. (Incidentally, Europe also has fewer than half as
many deaths from overdoses. )

How have they managed that -- in Europe, no less, which shocks some
North American sensibilities with its underage drinking, relative
tolerance for marijuana and heroin-friendly "needle parks"?

Recently, in Zurich, I walked into a public toilet that had only blue
lights. Why? So junkies can't find their veins.

A short walk away, I saw a heroin maintenance clinic that gives
addicts counselling, clean needles and a safe alternative to shooting
up in the streets.

If you were to need a syringe, cigarette machines have been retooled
to sell clean, government-subsidized syringes.

While each European nation has its own drug laws and policies, they
all seem to share a pragmatic approach. They treat drug abuse not as
a crime but as an illness.

And they measure the effectiveness of their drug policies not in
arrests but in harm reduction.

Generally, Europeans employ a three-pronged strategy of police,
educators and doctors.

Police zero in on dealers -- not users -- to limit the supply of
drugs. Users often get off with a warning and are directed to get treatment.

Anti-drug education programs warn people (especially young people) of
the dangers of drugs, but they get beyond the "zero tolerance" and
"three strikes" rhetoric that might sound good to voters but rings
hollow with addicts and at-risk teens.

And, finally, the medical community steps in to battle health
problems associated with drug use (especially HIV and hepatitis C)
and help addicts get back their lives.

Contrast this approach with the U.S. war on drugs. As during
Prohibition in the 1930s, the United States spends its resources on
police and prisons to lock up dealers and users alike. U.S. drug-
education seemed like propaganda and, therefore, its messengers lost
credibility.

Perhaps the biggest difference between European and North American
drug policy is how each deals with marijuana.

When I visited the Amsterdam coffee shop that openly sells marijuana,
I sat and observed: People were chatting; a female customer perused a
fanciful array of "loaner" bongs. An older couple (who apparently
didn't enjoy the edgy ambience) parked their bikes and dropped in for
a baggie to go. An underage customer was shooed away.

A policeman stepped inside, but only to post a warning about the
latest danger from chemical drugs on the streets.

In the Netherlands, it's cheaper to get high than drunk, and drug-
related crimes are rare.

After 10 years of allowed recreational marijuana use, Dutch
anti-drug- abuse professionals agree there has been no significant
increase in pot smoking among young people and that overall cannabis
use has increased only slightly.

Meanwhile, in North America, it's easier for a 15-year-old to buy
marijuana than tobacco or alcohol -- because no one gets carded when
buying something on the street.

The Netherlands' policies are the most liberal, but across Europe no
one is locked away for discreetly smoking a joint. The priority is on
reducing abuse of such hard drugs as heroin and cocaine.

The only reference to marijuana I found among the pages of the
European Union's drug policy was a reference to counselling for
"problem cannabis use."

European leaders understand a society has a choice: Tolerate
alternative lifestyles or build more prisons. They've made their choice.