002
"Dutch Drug Policy Works" appeared in the November 2, 1998 issue of The New Republic. The ad compares the US and Holland on some of the key indicators on the effectiveness of drug policy. The comparisons are based on official statistics of the US and Dutch governments. Not surprisingly in every category Holland is better off than the United States.
McCaffrey
ISSUEUnited StatesThe Netherlands
Use of marijuana
by older teens (1994)		38%30%
Use of marijuana
by 15-year-old (in 1995)		34%29%
Heroin addicts (in 1995)430
per 100,000		160
per 100,000
Murder rate (in 1996)8.22 per 100,0001.8
per 100,000
Crime-related deaths8.2 per 100,000 (1995)1.2
per 100,000 (1994
Incarceration rate (1997)645
per 100,000		73
per 100,000
Per capita spending
on drug-related law enforcement		$81$27

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Kevin B. Zeese President, 703-354-5694, 703-354-5695 (fax), info@csdp.org

These fact are based on official statistics from Holland and the United States. Citations are available from the Web site of the Netherlands http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/c_hltdru.html or from Common Sense.