The drug enforcement policy of the federal government of the United States is based on a widely held assumption in the United States that the American drug abuse problem is caused by a few evil people in small Third World countries who are forc ing American youth into evil ways. In my view, the American government and most of the American people are either unable or unwilling to recognize American responsibility for the American drug problem, and the American government and most American politicians have not even correctly identified the true nature of the American drug problem.
For purposes of this essay, the American drug problem is defined as the illegal trafficing and illegal use of controlled substances. Notwithstanding that alcohol is a drug, and not withstanding that the use of alcohol extracts far greater social costs in American society than all of the controlled substances combined, the country's alcohol problem is excluded from consideration in this essay, because, within a framework of law, both the importation to and use of alcohol in the United States are legal activities.
The seriousness of the drug problem in the United States is not open to question. The toll exacted on society and on individuals within the society in both social and economic
contexts is both appalling and enormous. That it can truly be considered as an international problem, however, is open to serious question.
It can be fairly stated that the majority of illegal drugs used in the United States is imported, as opposed to being pro duced domestically. This assertion, however, is very general. All of the cocaine is either imported or requires the importa tion of coca leaves. On the other hand, however, some esti mates place domestic marijuana production ahead of imports of that substance. The fact that the drugs used in the United States are imported, however, does not make the problem inter national in the context of either s...