Pubdate: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 Source: Washington Times (DC) Copyright: 2000 News World Communications, Inc. Contact: http://www.washtimes.com/ Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1893/a02.html U.S. WAR ON DRUGS ONLY FEEDS PROBLEMS IN COLOMBIA Regarding the Dec. 17 article "Colombia crumbles," the Colombian government's peace plan could very well spread both civil war and coca production throughout the region. Communist guerrilla movements do not originate in a vacuum. U.S. tax dollars would be better spent addressing the underlying causes of civil strife rather than applying overwhelming military force to attack the symptoms. Forcing the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to the bargaining table at gunpoint will not remedy Colombia's societal inequities. We're not doing the Colombian people any favors by funding civil war. Nor are we protecting Americans from drugs. Cut off the flow of cocaine and domestic methamphetamine production will boom to meet the demand for cocaine-type drugs. Rather than waste resources attempting to overcome immutable laws of supply and demand, policy-makers should look to the lessons learned from America's disastrous experiment with alcohol prohibition. The drug war finances organized crime, while failing miserably at preventing use. With organized crime comes corruption, to which the United States is not immune. The former commander of U.S. anti-drug operations in Colombia was found guilty of laundering the profits of his wife's heroin-smuggling operation. Entire countries have been destabilized because of the corrupting influence of organized-crime groups that profit from the illegal drug trade. Drug laws fuel crime and corruption, which is then used to justify increased drug-war spending. It's time to end this madness and start treating all substance abuse - legal or otherwise - as the public health problem it is. Robert Sharpe, Program officer, Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation Washington - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D