NCJ Number
111311
Journal
Washington Quarterly Dated: (Fall 1985) Pages: 87-104
Date Published
1985
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article reviews U.S. efforts to control international drug production and trafficking, primarily heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, and identifies the obstacles which impede such efforts.
Abstract
The article first distinguishes the two prongs of U.S. international drug policy -- elimination of the drugs before they reach U.S. borders and elimination of the traffickers who produce the drugs for the U.S. market -- and identifies and discusses reasons for distinguishing these two prongs. A factor noted to complicate international drug control (IDC) efforts and undermine the reliable evaluation of such efforts is the high degree of speculation in calculating the quantity of drugs produced, imported, and consumed. Intelligence on the identities of traffickers, their refineries, and trafficking routes is similarly limited. An assessment of efforts at crop reduction and destruction concludes that it has had limited success. Regarding efforts against traffickers, the article mentions some successes, but notes that the incentive for foreign governments to cooperate has been outweighed by other factors that persist in sustaining a country's production of illicit drugs. After reviewing IDC efforts in such countries as Bolivia, Peru, Jamaica, Colombia, and Mexico as well as European countries, the article assesses overall IDC benefits and costs. The article concludes by discussing why any analysis of the U.S. government's overall policy toward illegal drugs is a more subjective enterprise than considering its international component. 18 notes.