DRUG WAR DOES NOT FIGHT AGAINST CRIME

This letter is in regard to "Drugs drive crime in central Maine" (Dec.
29).

Please do not make the common mistake of confusing drug-related crime
with prohibition-related crime. 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 drug war does not fight crime,
it fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun
each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind
drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. 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 many U.S. politicians to support a failed drug
war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

http://www.csdp.org

Washington, D.C.