Pubdate: Mon, 26 Feb 2001
Source: Quad-City Times (IA)
Copyright: 2001 Quad-City Times
Contact:  500 E. Third St., Davenport, IA  52801
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Author: Robert Sharpe
Note: Robert Sharpe is Program Officer at the Lindesmith Center-Drug 
Policy Foundation

NETHERLANDS PROVES THE FOLLY OF ZERO-TOLERANCE DRUG POLICY

Increasing Penalties For Methamphetamine Production, As Proposed In 
Illinois, Is Not The Answer.

Illinois' incarceration rate will no doubt rise, and possibly taxes 
as well, but as long as there is a demand for meth, there will be a 
supply.

There are cost-effective alternatives to the failed drug war that do 
not involve legalizing meth.  Despite dramatically lower per-capita 
spending on the drug problem, the Netherlands has successfully 
reduced overall drug use by replacing marijuana prohibition with 
regulation.  Separating the hard and soft drug markets and 
establishing controls for age has proven more effective than zero 
tolerance.

Dutch rates of drug use are significantly lower than U.S. rates in 
every category. As the most popular illicit drug in America, 
marijuana provides the black market contacts that introduce users to 
hard drugs. The "gateway" status ascribed to marijuana is the direct 
result of a fundamentally flawed policy.  Given that marijuana is 
arguably safer than alcohol, it makes no sense to perpetuate policies 
that finance organized crime and facilitate the use of drugs like 
meth.

Unfortunately for Americans, our leaders are more prone to 
counterproductive preaching that cost-effective pragmatism.

A dated comparison of Dutch vs. American rates of drug use can be 
found at: http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/c_drugstat.html.

More recent figures can be found at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm.

(Robert Sharpe is Program Officer at The Lindesmith Center-Drug 
Policy Foundation, 4455 Connecticut Ave N.W., Suite B-500, 
Washington, DC 20008-2328. E-mail: http://www.drug-policy.org)
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