Clinging to Failure: The Rise and Continued Life of U.S. Drug Policy

Ryan, Kevin F.; Bertram, Eva; Blachman, Morris J.; Sharpe, Kenneth Evan; Andreas, Peter; Gordon, Diana R.

doi:10.2307/827753

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The costs that illicit drugs impose on society are high and illicit drug use is notoriously difficult to control (Ryan, 1998; Room & Reuter, 2012). Research into the course of drug use epidemics and their drivers are important contributors to the knowledge needed to develop effective control interventions and policies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decline in the prevalence of injecting drug users in Estonia, 2005–2009

Uusküla

Rajaleid

Talu

et al. 2013

International Journal of Drug Policy

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Aims and setting Descriptions of behavioural epidemics have received little attention compared with infectious disease epidemics in Eastern Europe. Here we report a study aimed at estimating trends in the prevalence of injection drug use between 2005 and 2009 in Estonia. Design and methods The number of injection drug users (IDUs) aged 15–44 each year between 2005 and 2009 was estimated using capture-recapture methodology based on 4 data sources (2 treatment data bases: drug abuse and non-fatal overdose treatment; criminal justice (drug related offences) and mortality (injection drug use related deaths) data). Poisson log-linear regression models were applied to the matched data, with interactions between data sources fitted to replicate the dependencies between the data sources. Linear regression was used to estimate average change over time. Findings there were 24305, 12292, 238, 545 records and 8100, 1655, 155, 545 individual IDUs identified in the four capture sources (Police, drug treatment, overdose, and death registry, accordingly) over the period 2005 – 2009. The estimated prevalence of IDUs among the population aged 15–44 declined from 2.7% (1.8–7.9%) in 2005 to 2.0% (1.4–5.0%) in 2008, and 0.9% (0.7–1.7%) in 2009. Regression analysis indicated an average reduction of over 1700 injectors per year. Conclusion While the capture-recapture method has known limitations, the results are consistent with other data from Estonia. Identifying the drivers of change in the prevalence of injection drug use warrants further research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decline in the prevalence of injecting drug users in Estonia, 2005–2009

Uusküla

Rajaleid

Talu

et al. 2013

International Journal of Drug Policy

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“…Buoyed by the policies of successive political administrations, the drug war has since endured to swell the capacity of the penal institutions, and with the total expenditure on narcotics control programs amounting to$2.5 trillion within the last forty years (Suddath, 2009), has commanded a significant portion of the national budget. While American drug policy has been criticized in many quarters as a dismal failure (Ryan, 1998;Gray, 2001;Carpenter, 2003;Youngers, 2004), one of its more lasting manifestations has been the expansion to the frontiers of other countries which, wittingly or unwittingly, have become co-opted as allies in the US battle against drugs. Friman (1996) categorizes the issues surrounding the exportation of American drug control policies and the consequential interaction with foreign countries as a form of "narco diplomacy".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Long Arm of the Law: Bringing International Drug Offenders to Justice in American Courts

Williams

2015

BLR

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The exportation of the US war on drugs to the international arena has relied on the deployment of various strategies designed to reduce the supply of illegal drugs to the American market, and to hold perpetrators in foreign countries accountable. This paper focuses on the use of extradition in facilitating the prosecution of foreign nationals, and, through a case study of Jamaica, examines some of the problems inherent in the process of arresting and transferring drug offenders from countries within Latin America and the Caribbean to "face justice" in American courts.

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“…Punishing one offender may also create opportunities for other offenders and thus displace and disperse offending; at worst, there can be a Hydra effect where eliminating one offender creates many others (e.g. Ryan 1998). In order not to face strong punishment, offenders can seek to shift blame to others and to neutralize their own shame and guilt (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%