WAR ON DRUGS FUELS CRIME

That funding for the Galveston County Narcotics Task Force is drying up is
not necessarily a bad thing.

So called drug-related crime is invariably prohibition-related. Attempts to
limit the supply of illegal 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repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each other down in drive-by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.

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.

Robert Sharpe
Drug Policy Alliance