NARCOTICS TRADE TARGETS NOT JUST THE UNITED STATES, BUT THE WESTERN
HEMISPHERE, TOO

ISSUE: Crack cocaine proliferates in South American
slums.

A spike in the use of crack cocaine in poor neighborhoods and slums in
Brazil and Argentina ought to spark greater interest in efforts to
combat drug abuse across the Americas.

The hemispheric drug war of the past three decades or so has been
hampered partly by a disconnect between the United States and our
allies across the region. In short, drug abuse was seen as largely
America's problem.

It was viewed that way for good reason. The largest market, and by far
the most affluent, for cocaine and other narcotics is the United States.

That reality fueled an illusion to the south that the drug scourge is
America's problem, that the cartels in their midst are only meeting a
marketplace demand and that the war on drugs has only contributed to
violence in narcotics-producing countries and along transportation
routes.

So, if the United States wants to fight a drug war, fine, this
viewpoint posited, but let them battle it out on their streets and
cities and leave us alone.

That view, sadly, has proven short-sighted in many ways. The latest
way is that discount forms of crack cocaine, for example, are
proliferating in poor neighborhoods throughout South America, most
recently in Brazil and Argentina.

The addiction that follows is particularly debilitating for people in
impoverished areas that already face huge social and economic
obstacles. The last thing they need is to combat crack addiction, and
the criminal networks that push it.

The narcotics trade must be seen as a hemispheric problem. Those
leaders and electorates that have been dismissive or apathetic must
join in efforts to oppose it.

The United States is the biggest market for narcotics, but we have
resources to overcome its devastating impacts. Our friends to the
south don't have that luxury. To a degree, they have more to lose than
we do.

Bottom Line: Illegal drug epidemic isn't just America's problem.