Fighting the Drug Wars: Rhetoric and Reality.

DRUG abuse; NARCOTIC laws; COCAINE; DRUG traffic; PHARMACEUTICAL policy

The article presents information on several reports related to government policy against drug abuse issued by the U.S. Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. Drug abuse is a clear and present challenge to the public sector in its role as ameliorator of societal problems. As the reports reviewed in this article show, more than enough hard data exist to document the dimensions of the problem facing the nation. It was recently estimated that 30 million Americans are occasional users of cocaine, with over a million addicted to it and in need of treatment. A 1988 poll showed that drug trafficking was then viewed as the most important foreign policy question facing the nation. Long range plans of the federal government can be observed in the hearings of the National Drug Policy Board Strategic Plans and in the Strategy Report of the New York Guy Narcotics control Task Force. The City of New York Police Department presented coherent recommendations, but while it prioritized its concerns, it interjected that resources were inadequate to address the problem. Strategies of the Drug Policy Board were more eclectic, ranging from strengthening the legitimate economies of Caribbean countries to sponsoring conferences on drug abuse.