Demand Reduction: Reducing the Demand for Illegal Drugs in the United States

Abstract

Our nation's efforts to address the illegal drug problem has been met with mixed reviews, and by our government's admission, our demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade and has helped to create the current environment in Mexico. The policies of the United States over the last 40 years have been heavily focused on the supply reduction of illegal drugs. A much smaller percentage of effort has been focused on the reduction of the demand for illegal drugs. To support President Calderon in his fight with the drug cartels, the United States government must continue to adjust the annual National Drug Control Strategy to reduce the demand for illegal drugs. This paper reviews current U.S. drug policy and the issues associated with demand reduction. The paper goes on to make some recommendations on how the United States government can better adjust supply and demand reduction programs to make our current efforts more effective.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 28, 2011
Accession Number
ADA555368

Entities

People

  • Thomas H. Mackey

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Drug Abuse
  • Drug Addiction
  • Education
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • Health
  • Military Operations
  • National Governments
  • National Politics
  • Public Health
  • Public Policy
  • Schools
  • Street Drugs
  • Students
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Economics
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.