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The Globalization of Drugs
FEB. 27, 2014
To the Editor:
Your Feb. 25 editorial “The Capture of Chapo Guzmán” correctly noted that drug consumption in the United States contributes to violence and instability abroad. But, increasingly, drug consumption is a globalized phenomenon. Outdated notions of drug “consumer” and drug “supplier” distinctions have fallen away.
I have visited drug treatment centers throughout Central and South America that are treating their populations for substance use disorders. In Mexico, a former first lady, Margarita Zavala, made drug treatment one of her signature efforts. A recent report from Brazil indicates greater crack cocaine use there than in the United States.
Since 2006, the rate of cocaine use in the United States has decreased by 40 percent, and cocaine shipments have increased significantly to expanding markets in Africa, Spain and the European Union. We should recognize that every country has a drug problem, and that only by using a balanced strategy of prevention, treatment and law enforcement will we be successful in further reducing this problem.
GIL KERLIKOWSKE
Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Washington, Feb. 25, 2014
FEB. 27, 2014
To the Editor:
Your Feb. 25 editorial “The Capture of Chapo Guzmán” correctly noted that drug consumption in the United States contributes to violence and instability abroad. But, increasingly, drug consumption is a globalized phenomenon. Outdated notions of drug “consumer” and drug “supplier” distinctions have fallen away.
I have visited drug treatment centers throughout Central and South America that are treating their populations for substance use disorders. In Mexico, a former first lady, Margarita Zavala, made drug treatment one of her signature efforts. A recent report from Brazil indicates greater crack cocaine use there than in the United States.
Since 2006, the rate of cocaine use in the United States has decreased by 40 percent, and cocaine shipments have increased significantly to expanding markets in Africa, Spain and the European Union. We should recognize that every country has a drug problem, and that only by using a balanced strategy of prevention, treatment and law enforcement will we be successful in further reducing this problem.
GIL KERLIKOWSKE
Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Washington, Feb. 25, 2014
