NCJ Number
117175
Journal
Law and Contemporary Problems Volume: 51 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1988) Pages: 233-252
Date Published
1988
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article examines the effect of the Federal drug interdiction program on cocaine use in the United States, using the cost of replacing seized drugs as a measure of law enforcement effectiveness.
Abstract
In general, the interdiction program affects the drug market at the import level by raising the cost of smuggling drugs. The cost increases arise from the need to ship more of the drug per kilogram delivered, to replace seized equipment and pay legal fees, and to pay for more personnel incurring higher risks of arrest and incarceration. In general, the effectiveness of the program has been judged in terms of the quantities seized. Yet, while quantities of cocaine seized rose from average size of 100 kilograms per seizure to 250 kilograms between 1980 and 1986, the price of cocaine fell 23 percent between 1983 and 1986. This decrease probably reflects export-led growth in the production sector and steadily increasing demand in the United States and Europe. In addition, lower production costs may induce traffickers to invest less in protection of shipments. By focusing enforcement efforts on the upper levels of the drug trade and seizing vast quantities of drugs before the high costs of distribution have been incurred, the interdiction program inflicts little injury on the drug market. Because State and local enforcement efforts remove a greater dollar added value from the drug distribution system, expenditures at this level appear to be more effective than those at the Federal level. 74 footnotes.