U.S.' DRUG WAR IS A CURE WORSE THAN THE DISEASE

The United States' drug war is a cure 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 like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to
increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The U.S. drug war
doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed in the U.S., liquor bootleggers no
longer gun each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go
blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While American 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 harm reduction 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 U.S. politicians to support a failed drug war
that ultimately subsidizes organized crime. Drug abuse is bad, but the
drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe