The US is ubiquitous for its stringent, hard-pressed counternarcotics policy domestically and internationally. According to a new international study published in the scientific PLoS Magazine, the US are the world’s top drug users. The article reporting this finding tells us that “The study, released Monday, revealed that 16.2 percent of Americans had tried cocaine at least once, and 42.4 percent had used marijuana”. Its astonishing to me since for example, in Mexico the US adamantly demands that they tighten their domestic counternarcotics policies but they aren’t even in the top 3 nations that use illegal drugs. One thing is, this study solely focussed on marijuana and cocaine, which in my mind aren’t the most harmful drugs out there, so even if our population has a high usage rate of those drugs but not as much as the other drugs, thats a big difference. I think harder drugs should be the issue, and therefore our foreign policy regarding counternarcotics should reflect this and focus on harder illegal drugs in other countries as well as domestically. Still despite our governments efforts, it is still shocking to see that “the United States remains the world’s top drug market, one amply supplied by South American cartels”. With this having been discovered I think the US should revise their foreign policy on this matter and maybe focus more on other issues such as human rights..which in my mind need more of our attention right now then the international drug market. The article is available here: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080701160706.4pl3ba3e&show_article=1
July 3, 2008 at 11:53 am |
Wow , I think that article is very interesting I cant believe that AMerica is the worlds top drug market. However, on the other hand I can see how it could be since it is also a way that the government make money in several different aspects. I do think that it is just as important that the drugs are cocaine and marijuana, because those are both gateway drugs and can lead to the growth of other drugs. I know that it is very hard for the governments in South America to get rid of the drug cartels because it is the source of money to so many in those countries. We definetly need to develop a better plan to stop the flow of drugs into the US.
July 3, 2008 at 3:14 pm |
I actually did my policy analysis on the United States drug policy with Colombia. While researching I found that Colombia sells drugs to people in Mexico and then they in turn smuggle it into the United States. The Colombians do this so they won’t be caught but they still make a profit. This could be why the United States wants Mexico to tighten their domestic counternarcotics policies.
July 7, 2008 at 7:42 pm |
I feel that one of the largest problems and health hazards in our society today is drugs and addiction. The number of addicted criminal offenders and American citizens is rising, so I feel tightening laws are necessary. Although marijuana and cocaine may not be as harmful as herione, crystal meth etc. they are easier to obtain and come specifically from South America. I agree that focusing on the harder drugs is a good start though, the effects of marijuana on the brain are minimal compared to that of crystal meth.