NCJ Number
106219
Date Published
1987
Length
34 pages
Annotation
The response of most national and international leaders to the growing drug epidemic has been rigid support of the existing system of abstinence and prohibition, often through harsh criminal sanctions involving long prison terms and even the death penalty.
Abstract
As a result of this approach, drug-related crime and official corruption are spreading as the epidemic spreads. Despite stricter controls, harsher penalties, and international enforcement efforts, heroin and other drug use is increasing in America, Europe, and the Middle East. Drug trafficking also is increasing, suggesting that the current approach to deterrence is largely ineffective. Even in Iran, where immediate death sentences were meted out for drug law violations, drug addiction and trafficking could not be eradicated, further documenting the proposition that no law can be enforced if there are a sufficient number of citizens determined to violate it. Reforms in drug law and its enforcement are needed that encourage greater flexibility, adjustment, and cognizance of the realities of the problem. 44 footnotes.