This insidious form of institutional corruption stretches from coast to
coast and reaches the highest levels. In 1999 the Los Angeles Police
Department 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 due to the corrupting
influence of organized crime groups that profit from the illegal drug trade.

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 aimed at separating the hard and soft
drug markets, and a range of drug treatment alternatives that do not
require incarceration as a prerequisite.

Ironically, fear of appearing "soft on crime" compels U.S. politicians to
support a failed drug war that effectively subsidizes organized crime.

Robert Sharpe, Program Officer, The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy
Foundation, Washington, D.C.