Pubdate: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 Source: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC) Copyright: 2005 Evening Post Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.charleston.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567 Author: Robert Sharpe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) METH LABS South Carolina's methamphetamine labs are reminiscent of the exploding liquor stills that sprang up during Prohibition. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have created a youth-oriented black market. Drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. So much for protecting the children. Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only make drug trafficking more profitable. For addictive drugs like meth, 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. Taxing and regulating marijuana, the most popular illicit drug, is a cost-effective alternative to never-ending drug war. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like meth. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Given that marijuana is arguably safer than alcohol -- the plant has never been shown to cause an overdose death -- it makes no sense to perpetuate failed policies that finance organized crime and facilitate hard-drug use. Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like to think the children are more important than the message. Robert Sharpe, MPA, Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Arlington, Va. - --- MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman