Quang Nguyen

Professor___

ECON__

12 Saturday 2019

Drug Interdiction Increase Drug-Related Crime

Controlling drug uses is the top priority of any country in the world due to drugs’ harm to

humankind. The more advanced wealthy the society is becoming, the more people look for

different ways to destress, enjoy life and relax. Some people choose to use drugs as a hobby, and

entertainment. The drug use affects not only drug users, their families, but also the community.

A lot of money and efforts are spent and invested to establish the optimal plans for controlling

drug use, which involves demand-side and supply-side policies. Both sides have their advantages

and disadvantages. This paper is going to support supply-side policies to combat the illegal drug

use.

To begin with, it is important to understand the key differences between the supply-side

policies and the demand-side policies related to drug control. According to the Institute for

Behavior and Health, a supply reduction involves law enforcement, whereas the demand

reduction involves treatment, research, and prevention (Demand Reduction and Supply

Reduction, 2019). The article titled “Demand Side Policies in the U.S. War on Drugs” claimed

that the strategies to fight against drug use over the last 40 years are mostly supply-side policies

(Council on Foreign Relations, 2019). To be more specific, two-thirds of anti-drug funds are

spent on supply-side policies (Council on Foreign Relations, 2019).

First of all, it is simply that if the government wants to reduce the volume of drugs to be

used by the citizens, then the key is to prevent potential drug users from reaching the drugs. The
problem lies in the supply of drugs; therefore, the problem of drug use could not be solved

without starting from this end of the problem.

If drugs are harder to find and obtain, then there would be fewer drug users and less

demand for the drugs. In other words, supply reduction causes demand reduction. If the demand

decreases, then the drug suppliers would have fewer markets and customers to deal with. As a

result, the drug markets would shrink since there are too few buyers and sellers.

However, other people think that if the government does not ban drug use, then the general

population would not be tempting to try drugs as much because the situation of legal drugs

would make people think that drugs are just merely a way of entertainment. However, drug use is

different from a normal way of entertainment because drugs are addictive and can be lethal for

overdose. In case that drugs are legal, then the supply of drugs are prevalent, and it is easy to

obtain drugs to use, society has more drug users, whose health are heavily affected.

Second of all, if the government puts restrictions on the supply-side for drugs, then the

drug supply is reduced because of the cost of supplying drugs increases. As the National

Academic of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine mentioned, the supply-side policies lead to the

lesser volumes of drugs, which eventually can strengthen the demand-side solutions as well. It is

because if the drug addicts cannot find any source of drugs to satisfy the desire, then finding

treatment and abandoning drugs is the only choice for the drug addicts to survive. As can be

seen, activating the supply-side policies is the first step in combat against drug use.

Third of all, the supply-side policies can help prevent drug use better than the demand-

side policies because the law enforcement of the supply-side can touch the ethical values of the

drug sellers. If the drug sellers feel guilty of their jobs because they indirectly harm and destroy

their customers’ lives as well as the drug users’ family members and the community. It is
mentioned in the chapter “Dimensions of Supply-Reduction Policy”, published by National

Academics of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, it is considered to be morally wrong to produce,

supply and sell drugs. On the other hand, the drug users would not feel guilty of using drugs

because they choose to enjoy their lives in that way. Therefore, it is not to blame the drug users

for violating ethical values because each individual has a right to choose to spend his or her life

in his or her way. However, the government and the community should make clear that the drug

dealers do not have a right to harm other people’s lives, either directly or indirectly. Therefore,

the demand-side policies tend to focus on recovering the patients, instead of preventing the drug

uses from occurring.

Some people may say that demand-side policies are more likely to reduce drug use than

supply-side policies. It is because the supply-side policies face higher risks of measuring and

estimating the retail drug markets. The drug markets of drug suppliers can be a large

organization, who runs in a complicated and complex way to lure the police, the authorities and

the government. As a result, the supply-side policies are not as effective as they are supposed to.

However, it is the authorities and government who should take action to make policies more

effective and efficient, rather than avoiding the policies just because they do not show the

progress yet. According to the article “Improving Supply-Side Policies: Smarter Eradication,

Interdiction, and Alternative Livelihoods – and the Possibility of Licensing”, it is also

recommended that the government should smarten and restructure the design of supply-side

policies such as to eradicate, interdict the drug use (Felbab-Brown, 2014).

In conclusion, either supply-side policies or demand-side policies has both drawbacks and

benefits in the journey to combat drug use. It would be best if the government combines the

supply reduction and demand reduction in a balanced way, as well as create a strong system to
balance law enforcement and treatment, prevention, and research. The answer to solving drug

problems is not about choosing either supply-side policies or demand-side policies. Each

country’s government should manage the policies that can combine law enforcement and

treatment to solve the drug issues in the long run for its society and country.
 Works Cited

Demand Side Policies in the U.S. War on Drugs. (n.d.). Retrieved from

[Link]

Demand Reduction Supply Reduction. (n.d.). Retrieved from [Link]

reduction-supply-reduction.

Felbab-Brown, V. (2017, May 10). Improving Supply-Side Policies: Smarter Eradication,

Interdiction and Alternative Livelihoods – and the Possibility of Licensing. Retrieved

from [Link]

eradication-interdiction-and-alternative-livelihoods-and-the-possibility-of-licensing/.

"Supply-Reduction Policy." National Research Council. 2001. Informing America's Policy on

Illegal Drugs: What We Don't Know Keeps Hurting Us. Washington, DC: The National

Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10021.