Pubdate: Wed, 28 Aug 2002
Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
Section: Opinion, Page 15A
Copyright: 2002 The Palm Beach Post
Contact:  http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
Author: Robert Sharpe

FUTILE DRUG WAR FUELS KILLINGS IN COLOMBIA

About the Aug. 16 editorial "Columbia creeps up": The various armed 
factions waging civil war in Colombia are financially dependent on the U.S. 
drug war. Forcibly limiting supply while demand for drugs remains strong 
only increases the profitability of drug trafficking.  Even if every last 
plant in Colombia were destroyed by the toxic herbicides drug warriors 
spray, Americans would continue to get high.

Cut off the cocaine, and domestic methamphetamine production will boom. 
Thanks to past successes at eradicating marijuana in Latin America, the 
corresponding increase in domestic cultivation has made marijuana America's 
No. 1 cash crop. Eradicating plants abroad and building prisons at home is 
not going to make America "drug-free."

Instead of wasting scarce resources waging a punitive drug war, we should 
be financing cost-effective drug treatment. Prison cells are hardly ideal 
health interventions. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.

ROBERT SHARPE

Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance

Washington

Editor's note: The Drug Policy Alliance, formerly known as the Lindesmith 
Center/Drug Policy Foundation, promotes "alternatives to the war on drugs."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth