Pubdate: Thu, 03 May 2001 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Richard D. Bonnette EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES To the Editor: Re "An Unwinnable War on Drugs," by Ethan A. Nadelmann (Op-Ed, April 26): Of course drug policies should reduce crime and suffering. If you examine the data, you'll see that they have - not perfectly, but significantly. As you have reported, criminologists cite the decline in the crack cocaine market as a force behind the crime rate's plummeting to 30-year lows. Surely, the fact that there are 8.5 million fewer drug users today than there were in 1985 has contributed to this remarkable trend, preventing enormous pain and suffering. Some believe that the answer is "harm reduction." Isn't the better way to reduce harm done by drugs to encourage people, especially kids, not to use them in the first place? We can prevent drug use. Preventing tragedies is better than accepting them. RICHARD D. BONNETTE President Partnership for a Drug-Free America New York, April 27, 2001 - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe