I. Drug-Control Strategy: An Overview
An American View
"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government." -- Thomas Jefferson
The first duty of government is to provide security for citizens. The Constitution of the United States articulates the obligation of the federal government to uphold the public good, providing a bulwark against all threats, foreign and domestic. Drug abuse, and the illicit use of alcohol and tobacco by those under the legal age, constitute such a threat. Toxic, addictive substances are a hazard to our safety and freedom, producing devastating crime and health problems. Drug abuse diminishes the potential of citizens for growth and development. Not surprisingly, 56 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health in 1997 identified drugs as the most serious problem facing children inthe United States.1
The traditions of American democracy affirm our commitment to both the rule of law and individual freedom. Although government must minimize interference in the private lives of citizens, it cannot deny people the security on which peace of mind depends. Drug abuse impairs rational thinking and the potential for a full, productive life. Drug abuse, drug trafficking, and their consequences destroy personal liberty and the well-being of communities. Drugs drain the physical, intellectual, spiritual, and moral strength of America. Crime, violence, workplace accidents, family misery, drug-exposed children, and addiction are only part of the price imposed on society. Drug abuse spawns global criminal syndicates and bankrolls those who sell drugs to young people. Illegal drugs indiscriminately destroy old and young, men and women from all racial and ethnic groups and every walk of life. No person or group is immune.
