WAR ON DRUGS WRONG ANSWER

The case of Joseph Miedzia-nowski, dubbed Chicago's most crooked cop [news
story, Jan. 24], is not an isolated incident. The institutional corruption
engendered by the drug war stretches from coast to coast and reaches the
highest levels. The high-profile Los Angeles Police Department Rampart
scandal involved anti-drug officers selling drugs and framing gang members.
A former commander of U.S. anti-drug operations in Colombia was found
guilty of laundering the profits of his wife's heroin smuggling operation.

Entire countries have been destabilized by the corrupting influence of the
illegal drug trade. Like alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, the drug war is
causing tremendous societal harm, while failing miserably at preventing
use. 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
many U.S. politicians to support a failed drug war that ultimately
subsidizes organized crime. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.

Robert Sharpe

Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance

Washington