Alcohol and Drug Problems: Law Enforcement and Legal Policy
Alcohol and Drug Problems: Law Enforcement and Legal Policy
- Anna Celeste BurkeAnna Celeste BurkeOhio State University
Summary
Historically, U.S. policy has been characterized by long-standing ambivalence evident in the changing emphasis placed on prohibition as the aim of drug policy, and in debate about the relative merits of various approaches to drug control. Often characterized as supply reduction versus demand reduction efforts, significant changes have occurred over time in these efforts, and in the emphasis placed on them. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, U.S. drug policy adopted a more prohibitionist stance, with increased reliance on a variety of law enforcement, and even military actions, to control the supply and use of drugs, even in the face of evidence for the effectiveness of prevention and treatment, and high costs associated with the burgeoning incarceration rates.
Keywords
Subjects
- Addictions and Substance Use
- Criminal Justice
- Policy and Advocacy
