Insanity : four decades of U.S. counterdrug strategy / Michael F. Walther.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Walther, Michael F.

Contributor:

Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute

Series:

Carlisle papers in security strategy

Carlisle paper

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drug control--United States.

Drug control.

Drug control--United States--Costs.

Drug control--United States--History.

Drug control--Costs.

United States.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 45 pages) : illustrations.

Other Title:

Four decades of US counterdrug strategy

Four decades of United States counterdrug strategy

Place of Publication:

Carlisle, PA : Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2012.

Summary:

In the 4 decades since President Richard Nixon first declared war on drugs, the U.S. counterdrug strategy has remained virtually unchanged -- favoring supply-reduction, law enforcement and criminal sanctions over demand-reduction, treatment, and education. While the annual counterdrug budget has ballooned from $100 million to $25 billion, the availability of most illicit drugs remains at an all-time high. The human cost is staggering -- nearly 40,000 drug-related deaths in the United States annually. The societal impact, in purely economic terms, is now estimated to be approximately $200 billion per year. The global illicit drug industry now accounts for 1 percent of all commerce on the planet -- approximately $320 billion annually. Legalization is almost certainly not the answer; however, an objective analysis of available data confirms that: 1) the United States has pursued essentially the same flawed supply-reduction strategy for 40 years; and, 2) simply increasing the amount of money invested each year in this strategy will not make it successful. Faced with impending budget cuts and a future of budget austerity, policymakers must replace the longstanding U.S. counterdrug strategy with a pragmatic, science-based, demand-reduction strategy that offers some prospect of reducing the economic and societal impacts of illicit drugs on American society.

Contents:

The Nixon and Ford administrations : 1969-77

The Carter administration : 1976-80

The Reagan administration : 1981-89

The George H.W. Bush administration : 1989-93

The Clinton administration : 1993-2001

The George W. Bush administration : 2001-09

The Obama administration : 2009-

Proposal for an armistice : ending the insanity.

Notes:

Title from title screen (viewed January 2, 2013).

"December 2012."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 17-45).

OCLC:

823117923