Pubdate: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 Source: Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ) Copyright: 2007 Arizona Daily Star Contact: http://www.azstarnet.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/23 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n367/a10.html Author: Robert Sharpe LESS DRUG WAR IS A GOOD THING Re: the March 23 column "With U.S. focused on Iraq, drug war ebbs." A cut in U.S. drug war funding for Latin America is not necessarily a bad thing. Destroy the Colombian coca crop and production will boom in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Destroy every last plant in South America and domestic methamphetamine production will increase to meet the demand for cocaine-like drugs. The self-professed champions of the free market in Congress are seemingly incapable of applying basic economic principles to drug policy. Instead of waging a futile supply-side drug war abroad, we should be funding cost-effective drug treatment here at home. Robert Sharpe Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake