Pubdate: Thu, 14 Feb 2002
Source: Providence Journal, The (RI)
Copyright: 2002 The Providence Journal Company
Contact:  http://www.projo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/352
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n218/a03.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption)

DRUG WAR FUELS CORRUPTION; DOESN'T STOP USE

The case of the former Tiverton officer given 24 years behind bars for his 
role in a drug ring is not an isolated incident. This insidious form of 
institutional corruption stretches from coast to coast and reaches to the top.

In 1999, the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart scandal involved 
anti-drug officers selling drugs and framing gang members. Last year, the 
former commander of U.S. anti-drug operations in Colombia was found guilty 
of laundering the profits of his wife's heroin smuggling operation. Entire 
countries have been destabilized by the corrupting influence of 
organized-crime groups that profit from the sale of illegal drugs.

Like alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, the drug war is causing tremendous 
societal harm, while failing miserably at preventing use. While U.S. 
politicians ignore the historical precedent, European countries are 
embracing harm reduction, a public health alternative based on the 
principle that both drug use and drug prohibition have the potential to 
cause harm. Examples of harm reduction include needle exchange programs to 
stop the spread of HIV, marijuana regulation to separate hard and soft drug 
markets, and a range of treatments that do not require incarceration.

Ironically, fear of appearing "soft on crime" compels U.S. politicians to 
support a failed drug policy that ultimately subsidizes organized crime and 
corruption.

ROBERT SHARPE

Washington, D.C.

The writer is program director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
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