Pubdate: Sun, 17 Apr 2005
Source: Argus, The (CA)
Copyright: 2005, ANG Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.theargusonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1642
Author: Robert Sharpe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n589/a02.html

DRUG WAR

Alameda and Contra Costa counties are to be commended for putting public 
health before politics. Although needle-exchange programs have been proven 
to reduce HIV transmission without increasing drug use, they often give 
rise to a NIMBY reaction. Allowing drug users to purchase clean needles in 
pharmacies has the added benefit of not costing taxpayers a dime.

Unfortunately, tough-on-drugs politicians have built careers on confusing 
drug prohibition's collateral damage with drugs themselves. Attempts to 
limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant increase 
the profitability of trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, 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.

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 United States are linked to 
injection-drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs. This 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 Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.
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