THE DRUG WAR AND NATIONAL SECURITY

In: Dissent: a journal devoted to radical ideas and the values of socialism and democracy, S. 39-46

Abstract

TO UNDERSTAND WHY THE U.S. DRUG WAR HAS FAILED, IT IS NECESSARY TO GO BACK TO ITS EARLIEST DAYS, FROM 1969 TO 1973, WHEN THE CURRENT STRATEGY WAS ESTABLISHED AND FAILURE WAS INSTITUTIONALIZED. THEN, AS NOW, CONVENTIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WERE JUDGED INCAPABLE OF HANDLING THE EFFORT; THE WHITE HOUSE ORGANIZED (AND REORGANIZED) THE ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN; BETTER INTELLIGENCE WAS DEMANDED FROM THE CIA; INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE DRUG TRADE WERE LAUNCHED BY CONGRESS AND RESISTED BY THE EXECUTIVE. MOST IMPORTANTLY, DRUG ENFORCEMENT BECAME A MATTER OF U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY.