U.S. DRUG POLICY

Re "Drug war lows: Milton Friedman's 30-year-old advice," July 6:

Nobel laureate Milton Friedman's drug policy advice is more relevant than
ever. Colombia is now the third largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. Plan
Colombia could very well spread both coca production and civil war
throughout South America.

As a program officer for the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington, D.C., I
believe U.S. tax dollars would be better spent addressing the underlying
socioeconomic causes of civil strife in Colombia rather than applying
overwhelming military force to attack the symptoms. We're not doing the
Colombian people any favors by funding civil war. Nor are Americans being
protected from drugs.

Destroy the Colombian coca crop and production will boom in Peru, Bolivia,
and Ecuador. Destroy every last plant in South America and domestic
methamphetamine production will increase to meet the demand for
cocaine-like drugs. The self-professed champions of the free market in
Congress are seemingly incapable of applying basic economic principles to
drug policy. Instead of wasting scarce resources waging a supply-side drug
war abroad, we should be funding cost-effective drug treatment here at home.

ROBERT SHARPE

Arlington, Va.