by T. L. Christin

Created on: May 17, 2008   Last Updated: May 14, 2009

The only way to reduce the production of illicit drugs is to reduce the potential huge profits from manufacturing and selling it. Is there a realistic way to do this without addressing the drug problem in the United States and Europe? In the debate for solutions, some favor using militaristic means to subdue production and criminalizing their use. Another side argues treating drug addiction and its underlying causes and then educating the public about the dangers inherent in using these substances.

It should be understood at the outset of any serious and honest discussion about drug trafficking, that a huge infrastructure and bureaucracy has been created by different countries and U.S. administrations seeking to deal with the drug problem from the supply side. There are entirely too many individuals, agencies and businesses that have a vested interest in protecting their own turf and jobs. There is a great deal of money invested in the "Drug War." They really can't be relied on to make sound policy decisions on what works.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the United Nations international drug control conventions. In their annual report issued in March of this year, the President, Dr. Philip O. Emafo argues that those who seek to legalize drugs are ignoring historical facts.

"The first international controls over narcotic drugs introduced in 1912 helped to reduce the scourge of opium addiction in some Asian countries. Some sixty years later, accession to the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances contributed to a significant decline in the abuse of these substances, which presented serious health problems in the 1950s and 1960s. Given these and other experiences, suggestions to legalize the use of illicit drugs appear rather simplistic and misplaced."

Yet the use of legal and illegal narcotic drugs has not been reduced in the United States despite decades long "War on Drugs." According FBI reports, every 17 seconds someone is arrested in the United States for a drug related offense. There is no evidence that the 1930's prohibition against alcohol had any downward effect on its production or its use. In fact, there is evidence that it was responsible for increased crime. The price of incarcerating thousands of citizens every year for possessing illegal drugs sometimes for many years is not only too high in dollars but is too high in the costs to families.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>