Book/Printed Material Insanity : four decades of U.S. counterdrug strategy Four decades of United States counterdrug strategy / Four decades of US counterdrug strategy
About this Item
Title
- Insanity : four decades of U.S. counterdrug strategy
Other Title
- Four decades of United States counterdrug strategy
- Four decades of US counterdrug strategy
Summary
- In the 4 decades since President Richard Nixon first declared war on drugs, the U.S. counterdrug strategy has remained virtually unchanged -- favoring supply-reduction, law enforcement and criminal sanctions over demand-reduction, treatment, and education. While the annual counterdrug budget has ballooned from $100 million to $25 billion, the availability of most illicit drugs remains at an all-time high. The human cost is staggering -- nearly 40,000 drug-related deaths in the United States annually. The societal impact, in purely economic terms, is now estimated to be approximately $200 billion per year. The global illicit drug industry now accounts for 1 percent of all commerce on the planet -- approximately $320 billion annually. Legalization is almost certainly not the answer; however, an objective analysis of available data confirms that: 1) the United States has pursued essentially the same flawed supply-reduction strategy for 40 years; and, 2) simply increasing the amount of money invested each year in this strategy will not make it successful. Faced with impending budget cuts and a future of budget austerity, policymakers must replace the longstanding U.S. counterdrug strategy with a pragmatic, science-based, demand-reduction strategy that offers some prospect of reducing the economic and societal impacts of illicit drugs on American society.
Names
- Walther, Michael F.
- Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute
Created / Published
- Carlisle, PA : Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2012.
Contents
- The Nixon and Ford administrations : 1969-77 -- The Carter administration : 1976-80 -- The Reagan administration : 1981-89 -- The George H.W. Bush administration : 1989-93 -- The Clinton administration : 1993-2001 -- The George W. Bush administration : 2001-09 -- The Obama administration : 2009- -- Proposal for an armistice : ending the insanity.
Headings
- - Drug control--United States
- - Drug control--United States--Costs
- - Drug control--United States--History
Notes
- - "December 2012."
- - Includes errata slip.
- - Includes bibliographical references (pages 17-45).
- - Description based on print version record; resource not viewed.
Medium
- 1 electronic resource (vii, 45 pages )
Call Number/Physical Location
- HV5825
- Carlisle paper
Digital Id
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2023692652
Rights Advisory
- This is non-restricted, fully open content that may be accessed on and off of the Library of Congress campus, with no restrictions, by an unlimited number of users
Access Advisory
- Unrestricted online access
Online Format
- image