Drug Control

International Partnerships

While the bulk of our drug-control efforts are domestic, strong partnerships with our international allies abroad are vital to reducing the threats that drug use, production, and trafficking pose to our national security.

Today, we are in an era of unprecedented cooperation among the United States and partners around the world in combating the threats drugs pose to our citizens. Long gone are the days of “supplier” nations and “consumer” nations casting blame on each other for the consequences of the illicit drug trade. There is now a global recognition that addressing the use, production, and trafficking of drugs is a shared responsibility among all nations. To build upon this effort, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (see below) is working closely with partner nations and international organizations in a variety of ways to combat the threats drugs pose to democracies and public health around the world. These efforts to stem the flow of drugs entering the United States work in concert with our robust efforts to reduce the demand for drugs at home, which will in turn reduce the revenue transnational criminal organizations have to operate.

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)

The Office of National Drug Control Policy is in charge of developing the United States activities “to control illegal drugs. The Office specifies among its goals certain distinctly international tasks, such as the protection of America’s borders, the control of foreign sources of drugs supply, and the promotion of international drug control cooperation. U.S. drug policies are also tied in with multilateral initiatives, such as those taken by the United Nations General Assembly and, more importantly still, a series of anti-drug efforts agreed upon in the Organization of American States. Because of shifts in the drug trade towards Mexico since the early 1990s, furthermore, a series of bilateral anti-drug efforts have been taken by the governments of the United States and Mexico.”(1)

Drug Control Policy

Notes and References

1. Deflem, Mathieu. 2005. “International Policing -The Role of the United States.” Pp. 808-812 in The Encyclopedia of Criminology, edited by Richard A. Wright and J. Mitchell Miller. New York: Routledge.

Further Reading

• Deflem, Mathieu. 2001. “International Police Cooperation in Northern America.” Pp. 71-98 in International Police Cooperation: A World Perspective, edited by Daniel J. Koenig and Dilip K. Das. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
• Deflem, Mathieu. 2002. Policing World Society: Historical Foundations of International Police Cooperation. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
• Deflem, Mathieu. 2003. “The Boundaries of International Cooperation: Problems and Prospects of U.S.-Mexican Policing.” In Corruption, Police, Security & Democracy, edited by Menachem Amir and Stanley Einstein. Huntsville, TX: Office of International Criminal Justice.
• Dunn, Timothy J. 1996. The Militarization of the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1978-1992. Austin, TX: CMAS Books.
• Koenig, Daniel J., and Dilip K. Das, eds. 2001. International Police Cooperation: A World Perspective. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
• Marenin, Otwin. 2001. “United States International Policing Activities: An Overview.” Pp. 297-322 in International Police Cooperation: A World Perspective, edited by Daniel J. Koenig and Dilip K. Das. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
• McDonald, William F., ed. 1997. Crime and Law Enforcement in the Global Village. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing.
• Nadelmann, Ethan A. 1993. Cops Across Borders: The Internationalization of U.S. Criminal Law Enforcement. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.

See also

• United States Drug Enforcement Administration
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
• Office of National Drug Control Policy
• USA Patriot Act
• Interpol
• International Policing