Embassy of the United States

Law & Justice

Narcotics & Drugs Archive
 

DRUG TRAFFICKING AS A SECURITY THREAT IN WEST AFRICA. Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations. Web posted October 28, 2008.
Full Text [PDF format, 54 pages]
According to the report, a declining U.S. cocaine market and a rising European one appear to have prompted South American cocaine traffickers to make use of low-governance areas in West Africa as transit zones.
[Note: contains copyrighted material]

NEW SURVEY REVEALS STEEP DROPS IN OPIUM PRODUCTION AND CULTIVATION IN AFGHANISTAN. Office of National Drug Control Policy. Web posted October 26, 2008.
Full Text [HTML format, various paging]
After two straight years of record opium production, the report finds that potential opium production in Afghanistan has declined steeply, by 31 percent, to 5,500 metric tons, down from 8,000 metric tons in 2007. In addition, Afghanistan’s 2008 opium poppy crop decreased by 22 percent to 157,000 hectares, down from 202,000 hectares in 2007. The 2008 cultivation total is also nearly 10 percent below the 2006 level of 172,600. The 2008 estimate reports that opium poppy cultivation has been nearly eliminated in most of Afghanistan’s North and East. There are now 18 poppy-free provinces in Afghanistan as compared to 15 in 2007, and 12 in 2006.
[Note: contains copyrighted material]

ILLICIT DRUG TRENDS IN AFGHANISTAN.
Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations. Web posted May 9, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 38 pages]

The UN Office for Drugs and Crime has issued four reports on Illicit drug trends in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and Central Asia. The reports were produced within the framework of the Paris Pact, an initiative launched in 2003 to promote coordinated measures to counter narcotic-trafficking in and from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is virtually the world’s sole producer of opium, yielding at least 93 per cent of the global annual output.

Additional Reports on Illicit Drug Trends:

Illicit Drug Trends in Pakistan
Illicit Drug Trends in Central Asia
Illicit Drug Trends in Russia Federation

[Note: contains copyrighted material.]

MERIDA INITIATIVE: PROPOSED U.S. ANTICRIME AND COUNTER-DRUG ASSISTANCE FOR MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA.
Congressional Research Service, RS22837, Library of Congress. Colleen W. Cook, et. al. Released March 18, 2008. Web posted March 27, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 6 pages]

On October 22, 2007, the United States and Mexico issued a joint statement announcing the Mérida Initiative, a multi-year plan for U.S. assistance to Mexico and Central America aimed at helping those governments combat drug trafficking and other criminal organizations. This report discusses the background and funding of the Mérida Initiative and will be updated as events warrant. For more information, see CRS Report RL32724, Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress, and CRS Report RL34112, Gangs in Central America.

YOUTH GANGS: BACKGROUND, LEGISLATION, AND ISSUES.
Congressional Research Service, RL33400, Library of Congress . Celinda Franco. Web posted March 23, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 50 pages]

Gang activity and related violence threaten public order in many American communities today. In particular, the rapid growth of gang membership, its geographical dispersion, and criminal involvement associated with the emergence of the crack cocaine market during the past 20-25 years have intensified current concerns. Congress has long recognized that this problem is cause for federal concern; federal legislation has been introduced in the 110th Congress to address some aspects of the issue.

REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL OF AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE ILLEGAL USE OF STEROIDS AND OTHER PERFORMANCE ENHANCING SUBSTANCES BY PLAYERS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.
George J. Mitchell. Mitchell Report, DLA Piper US LLP. December 13, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 409 pages]

In violation of federal law and baseball policy, illegal use of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball (MLB) has been widespread. MLB’s response has been slow and ineffective. This report describes how and why this problem started, and it identifies some of the players involved.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

AFGHANISTAN’S DRUG INDUSTRY: STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONING, DYNAMICS, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNTER-NARCOTICS POLICY. Doris Buddenberg and William A. Byrd, editors. United Nations and the World Bank. November 28, 2006.
Full Report [pdf format, 223 pages]

The magnitude and importance of Afghanistan’s opium economy are unprecedented and unique. Opium provides income and employment, supports the balance of payments and is a massive source of corruption, and undermines public institutions. This volume is a first attempt to look at and analyze the opium economy beyond the rural household level. The authors urge that “this volume’s findings and conclusions must be considered preliminary, and subject to further verification, adjustment, or correction through additional research.”

NATIONAL DRUG THREAT ASSESSMENT 2007.
United States Department of Justice (DOJ) National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). October 2006; Web-posted November 15, 2006.
Full Report [pdf format, 67 pages]

Table of Contents [Sections in html format, various pagings]

The National Drug Threat Assessment 2007 details national drug trafficking and abuse trends within the United States. The assessment identifies the primary drug threats to the nation, tracks drug availability throughout the country, and analyzes trafficking and distribution patterns of illicit drugs within the United States. It evaluates the threat posed by illegal drugs by comparing availability, production and cultivation, transportation, distribution, and demand.

Key findings of the report are as follows:

• Following a sharp decrease in methamphetamine production within the United States, Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTO), who produce ice methamphetamine in Mexico, have gained considerable strength and expanded their presence in drug markets throughout the country, including smaller communities in Midwestern and Eastern states.
• The expanded presence of Mexican DTOs in drug markets throughout the country have enabled some to introduce Mexican black tar and brown powder heroin in southeastern and Midwestern states. Although South American heroin is still the predominant heroin in most eastern drug markets, Mexican DTOs' ability to sell Mexican heroin beyond traditional western state heroin markets presents new challenges to law enforcement.
• Although coca cultivation is higher than previously estimated, cocaine availability and use in the United States have not significantly changed.
• Ecstasy (MDMA) availability and distribution have increased significantly. Asian DTOs based in Canada have gained control over most MDMA distribution in the United States and have expanded distribution to a level similar to that of 2001.
• Asian criminal groups based in Canada have contributed significantly to both the increase in potency of marijuana and its distribution throughout the United States.
• While rates of pharmaceutical drug abuse exceed that of all other drugs except marijuana, recent successes in reducing the illegal diversion of pharmaceutical drugs, particularly pharmaceutical narcotics such as OxyContin, have caused some individuals addicted to such drugs to substitute other drugs, such as heroin, for prescription narcotics.
• Most Mexican and Colombian DTOs have resorted to consolidating illicit drug proceeds into large bulk cash shipments and smuggling them into Mexico primarily through south Texas. U.S. regulatory and law enforcement efforts have made it increasingly difficult for drug traffickers to launder illicit proceeds in U.S. financial institutions.

AFGHANISTAN DRUG CONTROL: DESPITE IMPROVED EFFORTS, DETERIORATING SECURITY THREATENS SUCCESS OF U.S. GOALS. United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). November 15, 2006.
Full text [pdf format, 45 pages]

GAO finds that USAID and the Department of State have made significant counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan. But the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan threatens the success of the U.S. counternarcotics goal of substantially reducing illicit drug cultivation, production, and trafficking. Unlike in GAO’s previous reports concerning other programs in Afghanistan, this report finds that USAID and State had developed a strategy for counternarcotics tailored to Afghanistan’s difficult environment. Both USAID and State reported some accomplishments in each of the strategy’s five pillars; nevertheless, says GAO, the opium poppy crop in 2006 grew by over 50 percent, reaching a record amount. The worsening security situation, particularly because of the Taliban’s resurgence, threatens to derail U.S. efforts by slowing or stopping projects. Moreover, the pace of U.S. efforts was further slowed by the country’s persistent developmental challenges, including inadequate access to roads and limited government institutions. Given the difficulties of working in Afghanistan, sustainable progress toward the U.S. counternarcotics goal will likely take a decade or more of committed U.S. resources and efforts.

SYNTHETIC DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY: A FOCUS ON METHAMPHETAMINE AND PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE. Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP); United States Department of Justice; United States Department of Health and Human Services. May 2006.
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The Synthetic Drug Control Strategy, a companion document to the President's National Drug Control Strategy, details plans for unprecedented cooperation with Mexico and other international partners to drastically reduce the flow into the United States of both methamphetamine (meth) and the precursor chemicals used to produce the drug. The Synthetic Drug Control Strategy calls for 15 percent reductions in methamphetamine use and prescription drug abuse over the next three years and a 25 percent reduction in domestic meth labs.

This document outlines a three-tiered approach to the United States's international efforts:

• Improving intelligence and information on the global market for precursor chemicals;
• Effective implementation of the Combat Meth Act, signed into law by President Bush in March 2006, which sets a national standard for restricting the retail sale of precursor chemicals within the United States
• Strengthening law enforcement and border control activities, particularly with Mexico.

THE METH EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA: TWO SURVEYS OF U.S. COUNTIES – THE CRIMINAL EFFECT OF METH ON COMMUNITIES & THE IMPACT OF METH ON CHILDREN.
Angelo D. Kyle & Bill Hansell. National Association of Counties (NACo). July 5, 2005.
Download the document [pdf format, 11 pages]

The methamphetamine epidemic is having a devastating effect on communities across the United States and county governments are on the front lines in response to this crisis. The increasing abuse of meth across the states have far-reaching effects and result in legal, medical, environmental and social problems. The National Association of Counties (NACo) recently conducted two surverys of law enforcement and county child welfare offcials in order to determine the impact of meth on county services and their communities.

Key findings of the law enforcement survey:

• Meth is a growing, national problem in the United States;
• Meth is the leading drug-related local law enforcement problem in the country;
• Meth related arrests represent a high proportion of crimes requiring incarceration; and
• Other crimes are increasing as result of meth abuses.

The Impact of Meth on Children found that:

• Meth is major cause of child abuse and neglect
• Meth hurts children and families over the long term

DRUG CONTROL: INTERNATIONAL POLICY AND APPROACHES [IB88098].
Raphael Perl. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. June 7, 2005.
Download the document [pdf format, 19 pages]

The flow of illicit drugs from abroad into the United States has not abated. In addition, worldwide production of illicit drugs has increased, street prices have fallen significantly and the effectiveness of international narcotics control programs in reducing consumption is a matter of concern. This report examines the current U.S. international drug policy and address the following drug control approaches:

• Expansion of efforts to reduce foreign production of illicit drugs at the source;
• Expansion of interdiction and enforcement activities to disrupt supply lines;
• Expansion of efforts to reduce worldwide demands for illicit drugs; and
• Expansion of economic disincentives for international drug trafficking.

HOW GOES THE "WAR ON DRUGS"? AN ASSESSMENT OF U.S. DRUG PROBLEMS AND POLICY.
Jonathan P. Caulkins, Peter Reuter, Martin Y. Iguchi and James Chiesa. RAND. Web-posted March 21, 2005.
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Note: Contains copyrighted material.

The authors reviewed evidence for and against the effectiveness, costs and consequences of U.S. drug policies of the past 20 years. The report concludes that at different times in the course of a drug epidemic, enforcement, treatment and prevention can all be successfully used to reduce illicit drug use and the crime and violence with which it is associated. However, the strategies are not equally effective in all stages of a drug use epidemic. For example, law enforcement is most effective in the early stages of a drug epidemic, when relatively fewer suppliers are available and suppressing the supply is easier. In contrast, treatment is more effective in the later stages of a drug use epidemic, when a much larger percentage of ongoing users are drug dependent.

The report makes the following recommendations:

• Focus long-term drug problem management on limiting the number of drug users, the frequency and duration of their drug use, and the damage drug users do to themselves and others. Collateral damage resulting from policy choices should also be considered.
• Apply a rigorous analysis of the costs and benefits of law enforcement, treatment and prevention interventions to establish a balance better designed to achieve reductions in the consequences of illicit drug use.
• Correct the current allocation of resources for controlling illegal drug use among law enforcement, treatment and prevention to maximize their effectiveness. Most anti-drug spending is focused on enforcement, but some studies suggest that spending more to treat heavy drug users would be more effective.

NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY.
Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). February 2005.
Download the document [pdf format, 82 pages]

The three key priorities of the Administration's program to curb the use of illicit drugs in the United States:

• Priority I: "Stopping Use Before it Starts: Education and Community Action" to support effective science-based programs designed to help communities fight for a drug-free environment and encourage young people to reject drug use.
• Priority II: "Healing America's Drug Users: Getting Treatment Resources Where They Are Needed" continues to focus on ensuring that treatment is available for those who need it. Additional funding is helping to expand access to clinically appropriate treatment and recovery services.
• Priority III: "Disrupting the Market: Attacking the Economic Basis of the Drug Trade" targets individuals and organizations who profit from trafficking in illegal drugs.

NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY. FY 2006 BUDGET SUMMARY.
Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). February 2005.
Download the document [pdf format, 128 pages]

This budget document presents recommended funding for FY 2006 -- $12.4 billion, an increase of $268.4 million (+2.2 percent) over the FY 2005 enacted level of $12.2 billion. Part III of this report details the budget summaries for all of the deferral agencies involved in drug control. Highlights for the State Department are the following two programs:

• Andean Counterdrug Initiative (ACI): $734.5 million. This request will fund projects needed to continue enforcement, border control, crop reduction, alternative development, institution building, administration of justice, and human rights programs in the region. The ACI budget provides support to Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela and Panama. Included in the FY 2006 ACI request is $40.0 million for the Critical Flight Safety Program. This program will stop degradation and extend the life of Vietnam-era aircraft in order to maintain a viable fleet.
• Afghanistan: +$166.2 million. The President's Budget includes an increase of $166.2 million in support of counternarcotics programs in Afghanistan. This enhancement will bring total Afghanistan counternarcotics funding to $188.0 million in FY 2006. Funds will be used to expand the Central Poppy Eradication Force of 100-member Afghan teams to continue the annual poppy crop eradication campaign. Further, these resources will support a demand reduction program and a public affairs campaign aimed at reducing use and publicizing the eradication program. With opium production in Afghanistan increasing, farmers must be presented with options to resist the lure of poppy planting.

2005 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR).
United States Department of State. March 4, 2005.
Volume I Table of Contents [sections in html format, various pagings]

Volume I Table of Contents [sections in pdf format, various pagings]

Volume II Table of Contents [sections in html format, various pagings]

Volume II Table of Contents [sections in pdf format, various pagings]

This is the most recent (19th) edition of the State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). The INCSR is reported to Congress annually, at this time of year, to describe the counter-narcotics-related performance and cooperation of countries receiving US State Department counter-narcotics and law enforcement resources during the past two fiscal years.

In Volume I, the Andean Region and Colombia in particular are noted for positive trends in the past year. Around the globe, Afghanistan remains a troubling spot in counter-narcotics efforts. Nearly 90 percent of the heroin on the world market now comes from Afghanistan, and this reality has led to a redoubled effort by the Afghan Government leadership and international allies to address this resurgent problem head-on. In 2003, there were 61,000 hectares of heroin poppy. In 2004, that number leapt to 206,000, representing a 239% increase. The U.S. is working closely with its allies, foremost with the United Kingdom, which has the international lead on counter-narcotics in Afghanistan, and with the Afghan government to accelerate reconstruction and comprehensively reverse the tide of cultivation, processing and trade.

In Volume II, "Money Laundering and Financial Crimes", the State Departments highlights the following:

• The number of countries with anti-terrorism financing laws has jumped from 87 to 113 over the past year.
• Only three countries remain on the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) non-cooperative list of jurisdictions - down from an original 23 countries 5 years ago.
• Three countries - Guatemala, Egypt and Ukraine were removed in 2004, and three more - Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Cook Islands were removed earlier this year -- indicating strong cooperation from those countries in tracing and tracking money laundering. This progress also reflects a growing international commitment and political will to support the intensive legal changes and the training required to track funds.
• Money laundering in the traditional financial sector is down, although the use of so-called alternative remittances is up. This has made a focus on drug funding, as well as trade transparency and on alternatives like hawalla - increasingly important.
• There has been a general tightening of coordination and cooperation between nations vulnerable to money laundering and the financial institutions that call these locations home.

ADULT DRUG COURTS: EVIDENCE INDICATES RECIDIVISM REDUCTIONS AND MIXED RESULTS FOR OTHER OUTCOMES. [GAO-05-219]
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). Web-posted March 1, 2005.
Download the document [pdf format, 86 pages]

Drug court programs, which were established in the late 1980s as a local response to increasing numbers of drug-related cases and expanding jail and prison populations, have become popular nationwide in the U.S. criminal justice system. These programs are designed to reduce defendants' repeated crime (that is, recidivism), and substance abuse behavior by engaging them in a judicially monitored substance abuse treatment. This report describes the results of that review of published evaluations of adult drug court programs, particularly relating to (1) recidivism outcomes, (2) substance use relapse, (3) program completion, and (4) the costs and benefits of drug court programs. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reviewed a draft of this report and had no comments. Office of National Drug Control Policy reviewed a draft of this report and generally agreed with the findings.

Most of the adult drug court programs assessed in the evaluations GAO reviewed led to recidivism reductions during periods of time that generally corresponded to the length of the drug court program. GAO's analysis of evaluations reporting these data for 23 programs showed the following: (1) lower percentages of drug court program participants than comparison group members were rearrested or reconvicted; (2) program participants had fewer recidivism events than comparison group members; (3) recidivism reductions occurred for participants who had committed different types of offenses; and (4) there was inconclusive evidence that specific drug court components, such as the behavior of the judge or the amount of treatment received, affected participants' recidivism while in the program.

DRUGS OF ABUSE.
United States Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 2005.
Download the document [pdf format, 83 pages]

This 2005 edition of Drugs of Abuse is a very useful compendium of information concerning drugs that are illegal and/or drugs of abuse in the United States. The publication begins with an overview of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Schedules I-V of controlled substance classification and a one-page chart of federal drug trafficking penalties, categorized by substance and by quantity found in possession. There follow chapters of descriptions of the main types narcotics, stimulants, depressants, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants and steroids.

AFGHANISTAN: NARCOTICS AND U.S. POLICY.
Christopher M. Blanchard. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. December 7, 2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 39 pages]

Opium poppy cultivation and drug trafficking have become significant factors in Afghanistan's fragile political and economic order over the last 25 years. Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, Afghanistan has become the source of 87% of the world's illicit opium and heroin, in spite of ongoing efforts by the Afghan government, the United States, and their international partners to combat poppy cultivation and drug trafficking. Across Afghanistan, regional warlords, criminal organizations, and corrupt government officials continue to exploit opium production and trafficking as reliable sources of revenue and patronage, which perpetuates the threat these groups pose to the country's internal security and the legitimacy of its embryonic democratic government. The trafficking of Afghan drugs also appears to provide financial and logistical support to a range of extremist groups operating in and around Afghanistan, including remnants of the Taliban regime and Al Qaeda operatives.

The issue is further complicated by an aspect of coalition forces' pursuit of security and counterterrorism objectives: frequent reliance on warlords, tribal leaders, and local officials who may be involved in the production and trafficking of narcotics. The failure of U.S. and international counter-narcotics efforts to significantly disrupt the Afghan opium trade or sever its links to warlordism and corruption since the fall of the Taliban has led some observers to warn that without redoubled multilateral action, Afghanistan may succumb to a state of lawlessness and reemerge as a sanctuary for terrorists. Recently-elected Afghan president Hamid Karzai has identified counter-narcotics as the top priority for his administration and has stated his belief that "the fight against drugs is the fight for Afghanistan." In 2005, U.S. and Afghan officials plan to implement a multifaceted strategy to provide viable economic alternatives to poppy cultivation and to disrupt the corruption and narco-terrorist linkages that threaten Afghanistan's security and the success of recent counter-terrorism and reconstruction efforts. U.S. forces generally do not engage in counter-narcotics operations, and policy makers continue to debate military options.

This report describes the structure and development of the narcotics trade in Afghanistan and explores its relevance to Afghan, U.S., and international security interests, including the 9/11 Commission's recommendation that the United States make a long term commitment to the stability and security of Afghanistan. The report provides current statistical information on the opium trade, profiles its various participants, explores alleged narco-terrorist linkages, and reviews the U.S. and international policy response since late 2001. The report also considers current policy debates regarding the role of the U.S. military in future counter-narcotics operations in Afghanistan; planned opium poppy eradication; and funding issues for Congress.

MEXICO'S COUNTER-NARCOTICS EFFORTS UNDER FOX, DECEMBER 2000 TO OCTOBER 2004. [RL32669]
K. Larry Storrs. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. Updated November 10, 2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 16 pages]

In September 2002, Congress enacted the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for FY2003 (H.R. 1646/P.L. 107-228) that, in Section 706, made permanent a requirement that the President designate in mid-September of each year, before the beginning of the fiscal year, the countries which have demonstrably failed to meet international counter-narcotics obligations. Acting under these modified requirements, President Bush has made the required designations for fiscal years 2002 through 2005, and Mexico has not been mentioned by U.S. officials, except to say that it has been performing well and is far from failing to meet international counter-narcotics standards.

In the final analysis, according to Storrs, "the results of United States and Mexican efforts are mixed. Despite the unprecedented levels of cooperation between the United States and Mexico and the major Mexican strides against the leading drug trafficking organizations, Mexico continues to be the principal transit country for South American cocaine entering the United States, the leading foreign source of marijuana, and a principal source of heroin. Despite impressive eradication efforts, the estimated production in Mexico of opium poppy gum and marijuana increased significantly in the last year for which reporting is complete."