U.S. SHOULD LOOK TO EUROPE FOR DRUG POLICIES

In response to the April 13 editorial, "Heroin and teens,'' the reported
increase in heroin use is cause for alarm.

Because heroin is sold via an unregulated illicit market, its quality
and purity fluctuate tremendously. A user accustomed to low-quality
heroin who unknowingly uses near pure heroin will likely overdose.

The inevitable tough-on-drugs response to overdose deaths is a very
real threat to public safety.

Attempts to limit the supply of 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 doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. While the United
States remains committed to harmful drug policies modeled after
alcohol prohibition, Europe has largely abandoned the drug war in
favor of harm reduction alternatives. Switzerland's heroin maintenance
trials have been shown to reduce drug-related disease, death and crime
among chronic users. Addicts would not be sharing needles if not for
zero-tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes, nor would
they be committing crimes if not for artificially inflated
black-market prices.

Providing chronic addicts with standardized doses in a clinical
setting eliminates many health and public safety problems associated
with heroin use.

Heroin maintenance pilot projects are underway in Germany, Spain,
Canada and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription maintenance
would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render
illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations
from addiction.

Putting public health before politics may send the wrong message to
children, but I like to think the children are more important than the
message.

Robert Sharpe

MPA, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy