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Editor, The North Country Gazette:
The fact that the drug war cannot keep drugs out of the Bare Hill Correctional Facility, much less public schools, is indicative of its inherent failure. Drug warriors would have us believe the drug war's collateral damage is good reason to throw good money after bad. http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/2007/020507HeroinSmuggling.html
Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug 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.
Drug prohibition finances organized crime at home and terrorism abroad, which is then used to justify increased drug war spending. It's time to end this madness and instead treat all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is. Thanks to public education efforts, tobacco use has declined considerably in recent years. Apparently mandatory minimum prison sentences, racial profiling, civil asset forfeiture and random drug testing are not necessarily the most cost-effective means of discouraging unhealthy choices.
Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse.
Robert Sharpe, MPA
Policy Analyst
Common Sense for Drug Policy
www.csdp.org
Washington, DC 20012
2-07-07
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Country Gazette
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