NCJ Number
104289
Date Published
1986
Length
792 pages
Annotation
This portion of the final report of the President's Commission on Organized Crime focuses on organized crime's involvement in drug trafficking and recommends ways to counter it by reducing supply and demand.
Abstract
Overall, the report views drug trafficking as the single most serious organized crime problem confronting the Nation. It is organized crime's largest income source, and its debilitating effects on citizens< social and physical well-being are extensive. This report details drug production and use of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and synthetic drugs and identifies organized crime's involvement in the trafficking of each of these drug categories. La Cosa Nostra has traditionally been involved in drug trafficking, but newer organizations have developed specifically around the drug trade. All of the criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking have the common feature of a core management group with a configuration of support criminals who perform specialized trafficking tasks. The report also examines cooperation between drug trafficking organizations and political insurgent groups, including terrorists. Government complicity and corruption are considered as well. After a historical review of the past and current Federal drug strategies, the report recommends ways to reduce the drug supply through interdiction, intelligence, domestic investigations and prosecutions, foreign assistance, and source country crop control. The legalization of the drugs at issue is rejected by the commission. Recommendations for reducing demand for drugs are given the highest priority. The suggested Federal role in drug abuse education and prevention is detailed. Appended supplementary material and chapter footnotes.