DRUG WAR FUELS CORRUPTION; DOESN'T STOP USE

The case of the former Tiverton officer given 24 years behind bars for his
role in a drug ring is not an isolated incident. This insidious form of
institutional corruption stretches from coast to coast and reaches to the top.

In 1999, the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart scandal involved
anti-drug officers selling drugs and framing gang members. Last year, the
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 by the corrupting influence of
organized-crime groups that profit from the sale of illegal drugs.

Like alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, the drug war is causing tremendous
societal harm, while failing miserably at preventing use. While U.S.
politicians ignore the historical precedent, European countries are
embracing harm reduction, 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 to separate hard and soft drug
markets, and a range of treatments that do not require incarceration.

Ironically, fear of appearing "soft on crime" compels U.S. politicians to
support a failed drug policy that ultimately subsidizes organized crime and
corruption.

ROBERT SHARPE

Washington, D.C.

The writer is program director of the Drug Policy Alliance.