In the first article, the Secretary General of the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO/Interpol) reviews law enforcement cooperation and some of the more recent patterns of drug trafficking. This first article provides the backdrop for the next five articles, which present more detailed accounts of the problems that face law enforcement agencies at the national level and some of their achievements. One article presents the legislative scheme of pretrial destruction or lawful disposal of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in India. Another article considers trends and countermeasures in drug abuse and illicit trafficking in Italy from 1979 through 1990. Other articles discuss law enforcement approaches and measures used to counter illicit drug problems in Thailand, an analysis of heroin seized in France, and drug control policies in some parts of Asia. In the concluding article, a law enforcement official with nearly 40 years of experience describes some of the changes that he has seen in drug abuse control over his years of law enforcement. He focuses on some of the more recent changes in the problems being faced and the organizational responses being made. Article abstracts and references