Pubdate: Sat, 01 Feb 2003
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2003 The Sydney Morning Herald
Contact:  http://www.smh.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/441
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n148/a09.html

ZERO TOLERANCE DEMANDS HIGH PRICE IN NEEDLESS VICTIMS 1 OF 2

In her thoughtful column ("Our criminal approach to law and order", Herald, 
January 27), Paola Totaro asks why proven harm reduction measures like 
heroin maintenance require seemingly endless evaluations when equally 
radical proposals such as mandatory sentencing are never subjected to 
cost-benefit analysis.

The answer in a nutshell: shameless tough-on-drugs politicians have built 
careers on confusing drug prohibition's collateral damage with drugs 
themselves. The problem is compounded by the manner in which the United 
States uses its superpower status to export a dangerous moral crusade 
around the globe.

When politics trumps science, people die. Researchers at the US Centres for 
Disease Control estimate that 57 per cent of AIDS cases among women and 36 
per cent of overall AIDS cases in the US are linked to injection drug use 
or sex with partners who inject drugs. This easily preventable public 
health crisis is a direct result of zero tolerance laws that restrict 
access to clean syringes. Australia should "just say no" to the harm 
maximisation drug policies of the US.

Robert Sharpe, Program officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington (US), 
January 30.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens