SPECIAL INTERESTS HINDER NARCOTICS LAW REFORM

Congratulations to Veronica Rollin for an excellent column. 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 increased criminal activity. The drug war doesn't fight crime - it
fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, bootleggers no longer gun each
other down, nor do consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub
gin.

U.S. politicians ignore the drug war's historical precedent, while
European countries are embracing "harm reduction," a public health
alternative based on the principle that both drug abuse and
prohibition are potentially harmful.

Examples of this approach include needle exchange programs, marijuana
regulation aimed at separating the hard and soft drug markets and
treatments that do not require incarceration.

Unfortunately, fear of appearing "soft on crime" compels politicians
to support a failed drug war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime.

Robert Sharpe

policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy