Prohibition Repeal? Refocusing the War on Drugs from Supply to Demand
Abstract
The global effort to stamp out narcotics supply has increased steadily from its origin during the early 20th century, through the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, to present day. Over the past two decades, multi-billion-dollar campaigns have been waged against the narcotics supply chain in Afghanistan, Colombia and Mexico with little to no lasting positive results. Likewise, hundreds of thousands of drug dealers and users are incarcerated each year within the United States with no reduction in domestic demand. Ease of production, portability, profitability and inelastic demand make targeting narcotics supply untenable. Maintaining the global prohibitionist model against illicit narcotics is both illogical and a misuse of resources. Drug use decriminalization and its realignment from a law enforcement to a public health issue are the only meaningful ways to reduce the destabilizing effects of the global narcotics trade.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 02, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1177141
Entities
People
- Preston K Plummer
Organizations
- Marine Corps University