Pubdate: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 Source: Clarion-Ledger, The (MS) Copyright: 2002 The Clarion-Ledger Contact: http://www.clarionledger.com/about/letters.html Website: http://www.clarionledger.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/805 Author: Robert Sharpe DRUG ABUSE BAD; DRUG WAR IS WORSE That drug czar Frank Melton doesn't have law enforcement credentials is not necessarily a bad thing. Overemphasis on law enforcement solutions to public health problems results in needless deaths. Drug users are reluctant to seek medical attention. Rehabilitation is also confounded. Turnout at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings would be rather low if alcoholism were a crime pursued with zero-tolerance zeal. Eliminating the stigma and penalties associated with illicit drug abuse would facilitate rehabilitation and save lives. Unfortunately, tough-on-drugs politicians have built careers on confusing drug prohibition's collateral damage with drugs themselves. When politics trumps science, people die. Centers for Disease Control researchers estimate that 57 percent of AIDS cases among women and 36 percent of overall AIDS cases in the U.S. are linked to injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs. This easily preventable public health crisis is a direct result of zero-tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. Robert Sharpe Program officer Drug Policy Alliance Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom