DRUG REFORM SHOULD SEND RIGHT MESSAGE

Increasing penalties are not the remedy to the methamphetamine problem. If
tough penalties served to deter drug use, this country would have achieved
the impossible goal of a "drug-free" America years ago. Thanks to the war
on some drugs, America now has the highest incarceration rate in the world.

West Virginia's hazardous meth labs are reminiscent of the deadly exploding
liquor stills that sprang up throughout the nation during alcohol
prohibition. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given
rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for
age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences.

In Europe, the Netherlands has reduced overall drug use by replacing
marijuana prohibition with regulation. Dutch rates of drug use are
significantly lower than U.S. rates in every category. Separating the hard
and soft drug markets and establishing age controls for marijuana has
proven more effective than zero tolerance.

In the United States, marijuana provides the black market contacts that
introduce consumers to drugs like meth. This "gateway" is the direct result
of a fundamentally flawed policy. Drug policy reform may send the wrong
message to children, but I like to think the children are more important
than the message.

Robert Sharpe

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, D.C.