Today, U.S.foreign policy no longer takes the drug problem seriously, and the once-strong military interdiction role has been abdicated. We need now to restore our interdiction efforts and to establish trade and diplomatic sanctions and eliminate aid to cocaine-source countries that fail to reduce their production of cocaine. More law enforcement efforts to punish and convict people for the use and sale of illegal drugs were endorsed by 83 percent of the Gallup respondents. Even more forcefully, by 85 percent, those surveyed rejected the despairing proposal that drugs should be legalized in America. The response is wise on both counts.
Law enforcement requires action at the federal, state and local levels.
The federal role requires the identification and dismantling of all major drug trafficking organizations known to be operating in the U.S. Law enforcement, drug treatment, and prevention education are state and local responsibilities for which current federal aid should be block granted without mandates. Drugs like heroin and cocaine are not dangerous and threatening to society because they are illegal. They are illegal because they are dangerous and threatening to American society. Any relaxation in standards of illegality would make drugs more accessible, cheaper and morally permissible. In the Gallup poll, the people have again made that point.