Pubdate: Mon, 02 Dec 2002 Source: Springfield News-Leader (MO) Copyright: 2002 The Springfield News-Leader Contact: http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1129 Author: Robert Sharpe DRUG WAR NEEDS NEW DIRECTION Missouri's hazardous methamphetamine labs are reminiscent of the deadly exploding liquor stills that sprung up throughout the nation during alcohol prohibition. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increases the profitability of drug trafficking. In terms of addictive drugs like methamphetamine, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. There are cost-effective alternatives. In Europe, the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing marijuana prohibition with adult regulation. Dutch rates of drug use are 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. Here in the United States marijuana provides the black market contacts that introduce consumers to addictive drugs like meth. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Marijuana may be relatively harmless -- pot has never been shown to cause an overdose death -- but marijuana prohibition is deadly. ROBERT SHARPE program officer Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFlorida)