Can the Borders be Sealed
Abstract
The rhetoric of drug policy has changed in the last five years. Political figures, from the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration to local police chiefs, have agreed that enforcement of drug prohibitions has clear limits in its ability to reduce drug use. The call now is for so-called demand- side measures, particularly prevention programs. Nonetheless, America continues to commit its resources, if not its spirit, almost entirely to enforcement. In the 1988 fiscal year, 75 percent of the federal drug-war budget was devoted to enforcement; total expenditures reached almost $4 billion. The Senate passed an odd contingency bill (by a resounding ninety-three to zero), allowing the President to spend an additional $2.6 billion on drug programs in Fiscal Year 1989, if he determines that drugs constitute a national emergency. Of this $2.6 billion, most would go to enforcement, with particular emphasis on acquiring sophisticated equipment for interdiction. (sdw)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA216964
Entities
People
- Peter Reuter
Organizations
- RAND Corporation