DRUG WAR

Alameda and Contra Costa counties are to be commended for putting public
health before politics. Although needle-exchange programs have been proven
to reduce HIV transmission without increasing drug use, they often give
rise to a NIMBY reaction. Allowing drug users to purchase clean needles in
pharmacies has the added benefit of not costing taxpayers a dime.

Unfortunately, tough-on-drugs politicians have built careers on confusing
drug prohibition's collateral damage with drugs themselves. Attempts to
limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant increase
the profitability of trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, 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.

When politics trumps science, people die. Centers for Disease Control
researchers estimate that 57 percent of AIDS cases among women and 36
percent of overall AIDS cases in the United States are linked to
injection-drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs. This preventable
public-health crisis is a direct result of zero-tolerance laws that
restrict access to clean syringes. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is
worse.

Robert Sharpe Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.