Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001
Source: Weekly Standard, The (US)
Copyright: 2001 The Weekly Standard
Contact:  1150 17th Street, N.W., Suite 505, Washington, DC 20036-4617
Website: http://www.weeklystandard.com/
Section: Correspondence
Page: 6
Author: Robert Sharpe, Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, Washington, DC
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n404/a01.html

JUST SAY YES

IN HIS DEFENSE OF THE DRUG WAR, John P. Walters ignores basic economic 
principles ("Drug Wars," March 5).  Our tax dollars are being wasted on a 
Sisyphean task.  Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs, while 
demand remains constant, only increases drug trafficking profits.  Such 
efforts are tantamount to price supports for organized crime.  It's time to 
stop wasting the taxpayer's money on drug policies that do more harm than good.

Drug prohibition is used to justify drug war spending.  There are 
cost-effective alternatives.  The Netherlands has successfully reduced 
overall drug use by replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation. Dutch 
rates of drug use are significantly lower than U.S. rates in every 
category.  Separating the hard and soft drug markets and establishing age 
controls for marijuana has proven more effective than zero tolerance.  As 
the most popular illicit drug in America, marijuana provides the black 
market contacts that introduce users to hard drugs.  This "gateway" is the 
direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy.  Given that marijuana is 
arguably safer than alcohol, it makes no sense to perpetuate policies that 
spread HIV (through syringe sharing), finance organized crime, and 
facilitate the use of drugs like heroin.  Sadly for Americans, our leaders 
are more prone to counterproductive preaching than cost-effective pragmatism.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens