POLICY ON DRUGS

Sir, - Ian Oliver (February 13) cites evidence from the US as reason to
hold the line on drug legalisation. The US is perhaps the most backwards
country when it comes to drug policy. The former land of the free now has
the highest incarceration rate in the world. The steady rise in police
searches on public transit, drug-sniffing dogs in schools, and the testing
of bodily fluids in the US have led to a loss of privacy, while failing to
prevent drug use.

Based on findings that criminal records do more harm than cannabis, most EU
countries have decriminilised that drug. Despite draconian penalties and
perhaps because of forbidden-fruit appeal, lifetime use of cannabis is
higher in the US than in any European country.

The latest drug-war fiasco to come out of the US is "compassionate
coercion". This expansion of zero tolerance under the guise of treatment
does not distinguish between occasional use and chronic abuse. Jail
sentences and open-ended drug testing will be applied exclusively to users
of non-traditional drugs.

Alcoholics and nicotine addicts need not worry. Britain should Just Say No
to the American Inquisition.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Program Officer

Drug Policy Alliance

Washington, DC, USA