ReconsiDer Tidbits

The U.S. war on drugs is a $150-billion flop that has failed to reduce the
supply of illicit drugs and resulted in a bevy of negative public-health
consequences, according to a new report.

The money would be better spent on prevention, treatment and research
programs for illicit and legal drugs alike than on interdiction and
criminal prosecution, the U.S. National Association for Public Health
Policy says in a stinging critique of one of the cornerstones of U.S.
government policy.

"It is clear that most persons who take illicit drugs are experimental or
socio-recreational users. The typical drug user is scarcely distinguishable
from the typical citizen, and most were introduced to illicit drugs by a
close friend, not a pusher," the association says in the latest edition of
the U.S. Journal of Public Health Policy, which it publishes.

"This government advocates a policy [the war on drugs] which treats all
illicit use as abuse. This is a major cause for the failure of the Drug War
and prohibitionist policies in general." The article calls for a major
revamping of drug laws that would include decriminalization of marijuana,
needle exchange and heroin-maintenance programs for addicts.

According to the report, about 31 per cent of Americans have used an
illicit drug at least once, but only 6 per cent can be considered drug
abusers or addicts.

The association, a nonprofit grassroots group based in Weston, Va.,
estimates the cost of illicit drug abuse in the United States at
$67-billion annually. Of that, only $3.2-billion goes to medical treatment,
while $46-billion was spent on law enforcement and incarceration.

Since 1981, the U.S. government has spent more than $150-billion trying to
reduce international drug trafficking.

The illicit drug trade is one of the largest industries in the world, with
net profits in the $500-billion range annually -- 8 per cent of all trade
-- and growing, according to the report. Cocaine is described as the "most
profitable single item on the planet."

The report lists several negative public-health outcomes of the war on
drugs, including:

Increased transmission of HIV and the societal costs of AIDS. The majority
of new cases of HIV in the United States are due to injecting drug use and
sexual contact with intravenous drug users, and the "primary reason for
these problems is the limited access to sterile hypodermic needles and
syringes." The high cost of drugs also drives many addicts to prostitution,
which has fuelled the epidemic, according to the report.

Ineffective drug education. "Most current school and media programs are
critically flawed. These programs are not contributing to the health of
American children," the association writes, saying responsible drug use
should be encouraged rather than prohibition.

Limited drug-abuse treatment. More than five million Americans are in need
of drug treatment, but fewer than one in four get it.

More violent crime. Drug traffickers, not users, commit violent crimes, the
report says. In fact, much of the urban murder rate in the United States
can be attributed to drug dealers killing each other. "Supply-reduction
efforts have made the cure worse than the disease," the association argues.

Inadequate pain management. Federal drug-enforcement agencies are
"terrorizing" physicians who prescribe narcotics to chronic-pain patients,
the report says. Patients are also being denied access to medicinal heroin
and marijuana, a position that is described as a "direct affront to the
U.S. public's health."

The association also says the war on drugs is rooted in racism. The fact
that the disproportionate burden of the drug crackdown is being borne by
people of colour is "one of the more pernicious aspects of the drug
prohibition movement," the report says.

It argues that most U.S. drug consumers are white, but the majority of
persons in prison for drug-related crimes are not white. "In fact, at
current levels of incarceration, newborn black males in this country have a
greater than one in four chance of going to prison during their lifetimes,
compared to one in six for Hispanic males and one in 23 for white males."

The public-health association argues that drug prohibition is a powerful
corrupting force -- just as alcohol prohibition helped create organized
crime and created widespread corruption within law enforcement, the courts
and politicians. "The current system thus encourages criminal behaviour,
damages the criminal justice system and causes harm to the public's health."

by ANDRÉ PICARD Public Health Reporter Monday, October 18, 1999
The Globe and Mail, in Halifax, Canada

For a copy of the report email David Duncan at the U.S. National Association

for Public Health Policy   DUNCAND2@WESTAT.COM