PLAN COLOMBIA IS MORE HARM THAN HELP

Editor:

Kudos to the Valley Morning Star for an excellent April 14 editorial. Plan
Colombia could very well spread both coca production and civil war
throughout South America. Communist guerrilla movements do not originate in
a vacuum.

U.S. tax dollars would be better spent addressing the socioeconomic causes
of civil strife in Colombia rather than applying overwhelming military
force to attack the symptoms. We're not doing the Colombian people any
favors by funding civil war. Nor are Americans being protected from drugs.

Destroy the Colombian coca crop and production will boom in Peru, Bolivia
and Ecuador.

Destroy every last plant in South America and domestic methamphetamine
production will increase to meet the demand for cocaine-like drugs.

The self-professed champions of the free market in Congress are seemingly
incapable of applying basic economic principles to drug policy. Instead of
wasting scarce resources waging a futile supply-side drug war abroad, we
should be funding cost-effective drug treatment here at home.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy