REACTS TO STORY OF OVERDOSE

To The Oak Ridger:

According to a June 6 article, an Anderson County jail inmate was recently
hospitalized after overdosing on drugs. The fact that the drug war cannot
keep drugs out of jails, much less schools, is indicative of its inherent
failure. The entrenched interests riding the drug war gravy train claim
they are fighting crime.

If only that were true. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while
demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug
trafficking. ...

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each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 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 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.

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.

Program officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.