NO DRUG WARS

To the editor:

The work of local drug task forces is no doubt well-intended, but ultimately
counterproductive. Eliminating illegal drugs in the Shoals is easier said
than done.

Attempts to limit the supply of drugs while demand remains constant only
increase the profitability of drug trafficking.

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With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each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.

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

Robert Sharpe

Arlington, Va.

Editor's note: Sharpe is program officer for Drug Policy Alliance in
Washington, D.C..