BAD DRUG LAWS ENCOURAGE POLICE CORRUPTION

Dear Editor: The case of the Clarksdale police officer found guilty of
extortion ("Officer gets 10 months," Friday, Aug. 30) is just one of many
examples of institutional corruption engendered by the drug war. This
corruption 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 due to 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. Drug laws fuel organized crime and violence, which is then used to
justify increased drug-war spending. It's time to end this madness and
start treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public
health problem it is. While U.S. politicians ignore the historical
precedent, European countries are embracing harm reduction. Harm reduction
is a public health alternative based on the principle that both drug use
and drug prohibition have the potential to cause harm. Examples 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 politicians
to support a punitive drug policy that ultimately subsidizes organized crime.

Robert Sharpe, Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.