Pubdate: Wed, 23 Jun 2010
Source: Tribune, The (Bahamas)
Copyright: 2010 Robert Sharpe
Contact:  http://www.tribune242.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5099
Author: Robert Sharpe

DRUG PROHIBITION AND VIOLENCE IN JAMAICA

The violence in Jamaica is because of drug prohibition, not in spite
of it. The US drug war has done little other than to give the land of
the free the highest incarceration rate in the world. Zero tolerance
hasn't deterred use, in fact the US has higher rates of drug use than
European Union countries that have decriminalised.

Drug prohibition finances organised crime at home and terrorism
abroad, which is then used to justify increased drug war spending.
It's time to end this madness and instead treat all substance abuse,
legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is.

Thanks to public education efforts, tobacco use has declined
considerably in recent years. Apparently mandatory minimum prison
sentences, civil asset forfeiture, random drug testing and racial
profiling are not necessarily the most cost-effective means of
discouraging unhealthy choices.

United Nations drug stats: http://www.unodc.org/

Comparative analysis of US vs Dutch rates of drug use:
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy www.csdp.org
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake