Laws and Legal Issues

Federal and state substance abuse policies, laws, and law enforcement efforts have been faulted for many reasons. A leading criticism is that most drug-related cases involve “non-predatory” offenses. That is, the person breaking the law is usually not injuring others. (Illegal substances produce harmful effects, but in most cases, users take them voluntarily.) The time and effort spent on non-predatory drug cases, critics contend, is time and effort taken away from pursuing more dangerous criminals— killers, robbers, rapists, and terrorists.

At the same time, they claim, drug cases overwhelm court schedules and overcrowd jails and prisons with non-predatory offenders who are thrown together with hardened criminals.

Besides the question of harsh punishment, drug law enforcement unquestionably costs federal, state, and local governments billions of dollars each year. Where does the money come from? Taxpayers. Are taxpayers getting their money's worth with current drug policies? Critics say no.

Some officials, however, believe progress has been made in controlling substance misuse and abuse. They point to such trends as the apparent decline in the use of certain hallucinogens, especially during the past decade. Regardless of trends and statistics, they say, the situation would be much worse today without the programs we have.

And many people take issue with critics' claim that drug trafficking and use is non-predatory, especially since it is highly profitable. Drug rings amass fortunes, they point out, leaving millions of ruined lives and homes—even whole communities.