NCJ Number
134104
Date Published
1991
Length
293 pages
Annotation
This book puts into a historical and political context the relationship between drug trafficking, drug law enforcement, and racism.
Abstract
In the first major section of the book, the racial aspects of the national and international drug crisis are analyzed. It establishes the parameters through which the drug crisis is viewed, i.e., the current politics of race in the United States. In tracing the historical interplay of Federal antidrug campaigns and racism, this section shows how these campaigns have used racist tactics and ruses against African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans to advance conservative programs that have failed to eliminate drug trafficking or abuse. The section also considers who is benefiting from the trade in illegal drugs and details the international side of the drug crisis and how U.S. foreign policy, overt and covert, has been central to its development. The second major section of the book focuses on the drug crisis in the District of Columbia. The political economy of the drug trade in the District of Columbia is analyzed as well as effective and progressive antidrug programs conducted by District citizens and the city's relationship to Federal antidrug plans. The third major section of the book presents recommendations for addressing the drug crisis nationally and internationally. The underlying premise of the recommendations is that the drug crisis cannot be resolved through law enforcement efforts against drug use and trafficking but rather through drug policies that address the economic and social motivations behind drug production, drug trafficking, and drug abuse. A national and international war on poverty and inequality will counter both the demand and supply sides of the drug problem. Chapter notes, a resource listing, and a subject index