DUTCH PROVE COST-EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVES TO DRUG WAR

Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue said drugs are ''fueling the crime here''
(The Maui News, March 10). The crime, corruption and overdose deaths
attributed to illegal drugs are all direct results of drug prohibition. With
alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer wage violent turf
battles, nor do consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. Drug
policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a
youth-oriented black market.

There are cost-effective alternatives to the never-ending drug war. The
Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing marijuana
prohibition with adult regulation. Dutch rates of drug use are significantly
lower than U.S. rates in every category. Separating the hard and soft drug
markets and establishing age controls for marijuana has proven more
effective than zero tolerance.

In the U.S., marijuana provides the black market contacts that introduce
consumers to addictive drugs like crystal methamphetamine. This "gateway" is
the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Given that marijuana is
arguably safer than legal alcohol -- pakalolo has never been shown to cause
an overdose death -- it makes no sense to waste tax dollars on failed
policies that finance organized crime and facilitate the use of hard drugs.

Robert Sharpe

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.