NCJ Number
127032
Date Published
1989
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The flow of illegal narcotics from Latin America is a serious national security issue for the United States in that drug trafficking destabilizes both source and transit countries and is a source of instability within the United States.
Abstract
The consumption of more than $100 billion of illicit narcotics by 84 million people in the United States means lower worker productivity, more frequent accidents, and the diversion of economic resources into nonproductive purposes. The illicit drug market also enhances the power of criminals and shifts power away from legitimate authority. In addition, dependence on psychotropic drugs weakens the rational decisionmaking that is a basic value of the democratic process. Moreover, youth habituated to psychotropic drugs make unreliable soldiers. United States policymakers also fear that terrorist groups in Latin America have been involved in drug trafficking as a source of funds. However, it is unclear whether Cuba and other countries that oppose the United States are actively supporting drug trafficking. Since the early 1970's, the United States has taken a variety of measures to interdict the importation of illegal drugs, including pressuring other countries into conducting their own campaigns against narcotics. Summaries of further papers in the same volume