Pubdate: Sun, 08 Jan 2006
Source: Santa Maria Times (CA)
Copyright: 2006 Pulitzer Central Coast Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.santamariatimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/396
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n003/a06.html

WAR ON DRUGS IS A FAILURE

Kudos to James Murr for an excellent Dec. 30 column in the Times. 
Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains 
constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For 
addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate 
addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The 
drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun 
each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind 
drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. politicians ignore the 
drug war's historical precedent, European countries are embracing 
harm reduction, a public health alternative based on the principle 
that both drug abuse and 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 treatment alternatives that do not require 
incarceration as a prerequisite. Unfortunately, fear of appearing 
soft on crime compels spineless politicians to support a failed drug 
war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime.

Robert Sharpe,

Policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom