DRUG WAR FUELS CRIME

From ROBERT SHARPE, program officer for Drug Policy Alliance in
Washington, D.C.:

In reply to "Crackdown on drugs goes everywhere" (Mirror editorial, May
14): Cracking down on the illegal drug trade is easier said than done.
Attempts to limit the supply of drugs while demand remains constant only
increase the profitability of drug trafficking. The obscene profits to be
made guarantee replacement dealers. In terms of 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.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each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
U.S. politicians to support a failed drug war that ultimately subsidizes
organized crime.

Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.