NCJ Number
128172
Date Published
1990
Length
288 pages
Annotation
The House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control convened a hearing in November 1989 on assault weapons, precursor chemicals, and drug control in Andean countries.
Abstract
Testimony was presented by representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DFA), U.S. Customs Service, Police Executive Research Forum, Handgun Control Inc., National Rifle Association, Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotic Matters, Chemical Manufacturers Association, National Association of Chemical Distributors, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The hearing considered the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act enacted as part of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, weapons smuggling from the United States and other countries through Mexico to South American countries such as Colombia, controls over munitions exports to Colombia and other Latin countries, and DEA and U.S. Customs counternarcotics efforts. Prepared statements focused on the International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) Program of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and on illegal firearms and drug routes through the Caribbean, Mexico, and Colombia. Prepared statements also addressed the domestic availability of assault weapons among international drug traffickers, the flow of precursor chemicals from the United States to Andean countries, the position of private organizations in support of regulations on assault weapons, issues of concern to chemical distributors, legitimate versus illegitimate uses of precursor and essential chemicals, and the import and export of semiautomatic rifles. table and figures