DRUG LAWS BREED CRIME

Editor, Times-Dispatch: The last thing Virginia needs is for its
gubernatorial candidates to get into a who-is-toughest-on-meth
competition ["Kaine Accuses Kilgore of Being Soft on 'Meth'"]. The
drug war is a cure that's worse than the disease. Attempts to limit
the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only
increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs
such as methamphetamine, 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With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun
one another down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind
drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While Virginia 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 how to reduce harm 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 as a prerequisite. Unfortunately, fear of
appearing "soft on crime" compels many politicians to support a failed
drug war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime. Drug abuse is
bad, but the drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Arlington