NCJ Number
143012
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Anti-alcohol laws were abolished in the early 1930s, but all of the ills and problems created by alcohol prohibition became institutionalized when other forms of drugs, particularly cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, either were criminalized or laws that were previously dormant became significant in the law enforcement process.
Abstract
International drug cartels have grown so wealthy and powerful that the illicit drug industry has become one of the largest industries in the world. U.S. Government officials from the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the Central Intelligence Agency have become involved in arms and narcotics smuggling, money laundering, assassination, and other criminal activities due to the structural contradictions inherent in nation-states. Laws prohibiting smuggling are essential, but, under some circumstances, these laws contradict other interests of the state. Such contradictions pave the way for state-organized crime as a solution to the conflicts and dilemmas posed by the simultaneous existence of contradictory "legitimate" goals. An objective review of the history of alcohol and drug prohibition supports some form of legalization as the only way to deal rationally with the drug problem. 37 references