RESTRICTING THE SUPPLY OF DRUGS ENCOURAGES CRIME

Sir, Your editorial "The unwinnable war on dangerous drugs" (January
15) was right on target. Attempts to limit the supply of drugs while
demand remains constant only increase the profitability of
trafficking. For addictive drugs such as heroin, a spike in street
prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed
desperate habits. The drug war does not fight crime; it fuels it.

Afghanistan profits from heroin trafficking because of drug
prohibition, not in spite of it. The armed factions waging civil war
in Colombia are financially dependent on the drug war. In the US, the
drug war's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand makes an
easily grown weed such as cannabis literally worth its weight in gold.

While the US remains committed to moralistic drug policies modelled on
its disastrous experiment with alcohol prohibition, Europe has largely
abandoned the drug war in favour of the public health alternative
known as harm reduction. This includes needle exchange programmes 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 subsidises organised crime.

Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy,
Washington, DC 20012, US