THE DRUG WAR ITSELF IS THE PROBLEM

Dear Editor, Kudos to Jordan Smith for an excellent Feb. 27 column
["Fascism Rides the D.C. Metro," News]. Congress isn't doing the
American people any favors by denying drug policy reformers the right
to free speech. The drug war is a cure that is worse than the disease.
The steady rise in the use of warrantless police searches,
drug-sniffing dogs, and random drug testing has led to a loss of civil
liberties in America, while failing miserably at preventing drug use.

Based on findings that criminal records are inappropriate as health
interventions and ineffective as deterrents, a majority of European
Union countries have decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana
prohibition and perhaps because of forbidden fruit appeal, lifetime
use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country.

The drug war threatens the integrity of a country founded on the concept
of limited government. The U.S. now has the highest incarceration rate
in the world, in large part due to the war on some drugs. It's not
possible to wage a moralistic war against consensual vices unless
privacy is completely eliminated, along with the Constitution. America
can either be a free country or a "drug-free" country, but not both.
The results of a comparative study of European and U.S. rates of drug
use can be found at: www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/espad_pr.pdf .
Monitoring the Future is funded with U.S. government grants.

Sincerely

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, DC