Costs by Region: North America
Related Resources
New information about counternarcotics contracts in Latin America
A US Senate Subcommittee report, commissioned by Senator Claire McCaskill, which examines State Department and Defense Department spending on contracts to supply counternarcotics assistance to governments in Latin America. The report's analysis finds that from 2005 to 2009, the federal government’s annual spending on counternarcotics contracts in Latin America rose by 32%, from $482 million in 2005 to $635.8 million in 2009; and that, in total, the US government spent more than $3.1 billion on counternarcotics contracts during this period, despite not having any uniform systems in place to track or evaluate whether these contracts are achieving their goals.
The Failed Drug War Has Created a Human Rights Nightmare – How Can This Happen in Our Country and Go Virtually Undiscussed?
Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, argues that if we fail to commit to ending mass incarceration, future generations will judge us harshly. She draws attention to the fact that the war on drugs has been the driving force behind a quintupling of the US prison population over the last few decades, with African Americans disproportionately bearing the brunt of this increase.
Expert: Mexican Drug Cartels Infesting US, Even Our National Parks
An AOL News interview with Sylvia Longmire, former senior border security analyst for the state of California, who discusses the extent of Mexican drug cartels' influence and violent practices in the US. She concludes that both the US and Mexican governments "need to do some rethinking" about drug control measures, as the situation is only getting worse.
The Price of Funding Jails Over Schools
An article from the Root analysing the effectiveness of a criminal justice – instead of a public health – approach to drugs, as well as discussing the differing incarceration rates between African American and white drug users.
The Exile Nation Project: An Oral History of the War on Drugs
A feature-length documentary based on a collection of testimonials from criminal offenders, family members, and experts on criminal justice, which examines the effects of excessively punitive drug policies in the US.
How a big US bank laundered billions from Mexico's murderous drug gangs
A comprehensive Guardian report on how Wachovia, one of the biggest US banks – which is now part of the giant Wells Fargo – laundered vast amounts of money for Mexican drug cartels. It was revealed that the bank failed to apply proper anti-laundering strictures to the transfer of $378.4bn, a sum equivalent to one-third of Mexico's gross national product.
Misplaced Priorities: Over Incarcerate, Under Educate
A report from the NAACP which shows that minorities and the poor are most negatively affected by incarceration and criminal sanctions for drug offences and calls for an end to existing disparities in sentencing.
The Economic Impact of Illicit Drug Use on American Society
A report by the US Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center which calculates the financial cost of illicit drug use on American productivity, health and crime. The report found that the total cost of use in 2007 was $193 billion, with criminal justice system costs accounting for $56 million of this figure.
Cocaine: Unwrapped
The trailer for an upcoming feature documentary that examines the costs of the cocaine trade and the war being waged against it.
International security and the global war on drugs: The tragic irony of drug securitisation
A report which examines how the misuse of drugs has been framed as a security issue – a threat to humanity which is intended to justify the extraordinary measures of worldwide prohibition and a militarised war.
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