Pubdate: Sun, 24 Dec 2000 Source: Daily Herald (IL) Copyright: 2000 The Daily Herald Company Contact: http://www.dailyherald.com/ Author: Robert Sharpe DETRIMENTAL DRUG LAWS The Dec. 19 Daily Herald article on the possibility of criminal charges related to an overdose death in Naperville (charges have since been filed) is a prime example of the manner in which America's drug problem is compounded by the very laws meant to address it. Zero-tolerance approaches to addiction discourage addicts from seeking help. Drug users are reluctant to call 911 when a fellow user overdoses for fear of being charged with a crime. Likewise, tough-on-drugs attitudes prevent the type of honest discussion necessary to facilitate voluntary treatment. Would alcoholics seek treatment if doing so were tantamount to confessing to criminal activity? There is more at stake than the addict's health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, injection drug use has directly and indirectly accounted for 36 percent of AIDS cases in the United States. Since the epidemic began, 58 percent of all AIDS cases among women have been attributed to injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs. This public health crisis is a direct result of zero-tolerance policies that prohibit the sale of needles and drive drug use underground. The misguided drug war does far more harm than good. Like alcohol prohibition once did, the drug war causes tremendous societal harm, while failing miserably at preventing use. Drug laws fuel organized crime and violence, which is then used to justify increased drug war spending. It is 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 The Lindesmith Center Drug Policy Foundation www.drugpolicy.org Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens