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Show Hinckley Journal of Politics Autumn 1998 The United States' Drug Problem by Brandon T. Johnson Illegal drug use in the United States is a top concern of American citizens. Drug use is not only a significant domestic policy program, but also a high profile foreign policy issue. The Office of National Drug Control Policy's strategy focuses on reducing both the demand for and the supply of illegal drugs, with a strong emphasis on the latter. There are several problems with this emphasis. Bureaucratic agencies are incapable of significantly reducing foreign production or exportation of drugs. Also, the United States faces difficulties in deterring the production of drugs in Latin American countries because drug lords are powerful, influential, and even welcome in many communities. The author asserts that, in order to make a difference in the fight against drugs, the United States ought to focus on the demand side of the problem. Introduction Drug abuse and drug trafficking have surfaced in the post-cold-war era as a national security threat to many nations including the United States. The crime that runs through our major cities is primarily a result of drug abuse and drug trafficking. Drug cartels' involvement in narcotics trafficking and the violence which accompanies the drug trade make them responsible for most of the chaos and crime which have transformed so many American towns and cities into virtual war zones (Drug Enforcement Administration, 1996a; hereafter DEA). In the United States, drug control has become a top priority among policy makers and among the public. In the early 1990s, drugs were considered are the No. 1 issue among Americans. They are no longer No. 1 but it is still high on the list of threats in the public eye (Wiarda, 1996, 233). According to reports published in the New York Times, October 27, 1997 (Butterfield 1997, A18), drugs are indeed a major problem in our society. With that kind of effect on our society, obviously drugs are a major domestic problem. But, the illicit drug industry is often considered a foreign policy issue. This is because a vast majority of the drugs consumed in the United States come from foreign countries, especially from Colombia and Mexico, which are the focus of this paper. To combat the drug problem, United States policy makers have taken a supply-side strategy as part of their overall "war on drugs." The supply-side strategy is based on the assumption that if drugs can be stopped at the source, or in the countries where they are grown and produced, then the drug problem in the United States will decline, in that the amount of drugs available will Brandon Johnson is a senior at the University of Utah working toward a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a certificate in International Relations. The author wishes to thank Natell Johnson for her help and support. decline, and the few drugs that will remain will be too costly for most people (especially youth) to buy. Because of this policy the drug issue has become not just a domestic problem but also a foreign policy problem. Although drugs are both a domestic problem and a foreign problem, recent studies have shown that many Americans are not interested in foreign policy issues. Neo-isola-tionism has surfaced, especially since the end of the cold war. As reported in the Washington Post Weekly, Oct. 27, 1997 (35), in a 1997 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of those polled agreed that the United States "should not think so much in international terms but concentrate more on our own national problems." Most Americans just don't care much about foreign policy. Without a central threat or enemy, such as the former USSR, Americans would rather concentrate on domestic issues and work on improving social and economic conditions. This is why the drug issue is such a popular foreign policy issue: It is both a domestic and a foreign problem. The public can readily see the effects of drugs and drug trafficking in their own communities. Today the influence of foreign drug traffickers on U.S. society is even greater than before. Thomas A. Constantine, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), said in Congressional testimony that major drug traffickers are: ... far more influential and have a great deal more impact on our day to day lives than their domestic predecessors. Their influence pales in comparison to the violence, corruption and power that today's drug syndicates wield. These individuals, from their headquarter locations [in other countries], absolutely influence the choices that too many Americans make about where to live, when to venture out of their homes, or where they send their children to school. The drugs-and the attendant violence which accompanies the drug trade-have reached into every American community and have robbed many Americans of the dreams they once cherished (DEA 1997a). 61 |