The U.S Government Drug Policy

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Restrictions
Crop eradication
Counterdrug policy
Interdiction
Anti-money laundering
Extradition
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The issue of drug and drug related crime has troubled mankind for a very long time. Drug use costs the society great losses thus making the society invest a lot of resources in controlling in drug to ensure society remains a safe place. Law enforcement uses all the means possible in the endeavor to control drug. This paper discusses the CRS report for U.S congress on International Drug Control Policy.

Multilateral cooperation

This is reported as the largest and the broadest policy whereby the government of U.S joins hands with other countries in the efforts. The countries make agreements and treaties such as the “Hague Opium Convention of 1912” (Wyler (a), 10) and other international treaties. It is reported that almost all of the U.N members are partners to the international treaties and as such they are supposed to cooperate in the fight against drug trade in all perspectives (Wyler (a), 2008).

Restrictions

The U.S uses the policy of foreign assistance restrictions to hold their assistance to the states that may have failed to make efforts in drug control under the strategies set at the international agreements. It is reported that under this policy the U.S president may withhold aid or assistance to such which may force the uncooperative states to comply with the agreements (Wyler (a), 2008). However it is worth noting that such a policy may be prone to political manipulation. Burma and Venezuela were some of the countries that were given as examples of states that were not given counternarcotics assistance due to their failure to meet the minimum requirements as per the policy.

Crop eradication

Perhaps this is one of the most effective policies mostly used all over the world including United States. This policy aims at attacking the growing of banned narcotics. It is claimed that most agencies prefer this policy as it deals with the root source and thus they argue that by doing so there will be no any drug in the market and thus no more costs in drug law enforcement (Wyler (a), 2008). Others argue that it may be more cost effective to control drug cultivation than controlling the whole supply and consumption chain. However critics are also said to question the achievability and the effectiveness arguing that the policy may require a lot of time and resources and other methods of eradication such as fumigation which may be illegal or even not practical in some states. Yet other are claimed to question the political fairness of application of global policy of simultaneous crop control citing that political influence may interfere with the process (Wyler, 2009).

Counterdrug policy

Counterdrug policy is used together with drug control. It is reported that the policy aims at providing alternative methods to crop farmers. The report has it that U.S through agencies such as “U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)” (Wyler (a), 15) work towards helping the involved countries in initiating better economic alternatives to drug production both at microeconomic and microeconomic levels. Though the policy may provide alternatives to drug production some suggest that the broader achievement may not be realized by the government.

Interdiction

The interdiction policy refers to the collaboration with other states with the aim of intersecting the drug traffickers as they transport the illegal merchandise from the countries of production to the market. The report claims that there are dedicated U.S federal agencies mandated at implementing this policy by coordinating with other international governments to map, mark and block all the trafficking routes and by so doing it is believed that the drugs may not reach the market (Bernard, 2009). Some opponents argue that interdiction may result to increase market price thus making the trade more lucrative in the long run (Roman et al., 2007).

Anti-money laundering

The U.S uses this policy to combat drug traders in the process of ploughing the illicit profits back into illicit trade. It is reported that U.S together with the international community work hand in hand to map the flow of the illegal money especially in countries where the money represents a significant percentage of the countries economy and freeze it and in this way it is believed that drug trade will be reduced considerably. Skeptics are also reported to claim that this policy may be less effective than counterdrug policies (Teipelke, 2010).

Extradition

The U.S government uses this policy to work together with the international community with the aim of interstate handing over of suspected drug traffickers for prosecution. Proponents of this policy argue that it’s the best way of dealing with drug barons who may flee to countries where drug laws are not strict. However proponents also argue that some countries such as U.S may use their death laws to infringe on their sovereignty (Leuw 1994).

Conclusion

There are many policies that are usually employed al over the world in the endeavor to control drug trade. U.S uses the international drug control policy that encompasses of several strategies to root out this crime. U.S uses multilateral cooperation to work together with international community, imposes restrictions to uncooperative states and also exercises crop eradication policy. The government also offers alternative to drug crop trade together with interdiction, extradition and anti-money laundering policies to control drug trade. This is a sensitive issue and anyone dealing with it is advised to approach it with caution and open mindedness.

References

Bernard, G. (2009). Drug Policy. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.

Leuw, M. (1994). Between prohibition and legalization: the Dutch experiment in drug. Netherlands: policy Kugler Publications.

Roman et al. (2007). Illicit Drug Policies, Trafficking, and Use the World Over New York, NY: Lexington Books.

Teipelke, R. (2010). US Drug Policy: A New Approach. New York, NY: GRIN Verlag.

Wyler (a), L. (2008). International Drug Control Policy. Web.

Wyler, L. (2009). International Drug Control Policy. New York, NY: DIANE Publishing.

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