Gains Made in Controlling Illegal Drugs, Yet the Drug Trade Flourishes

Drug abuse and trafficking still flourish despite several decades of efforts to overcome the problem. The country's $5.5 billion drug abuse program during the past decade has dealt with both demand reduction and supply reduction. A continuing trend of great concern is the levels of drug use and abuse among young people in the United States. Drugs were the seventh most common cause of death for Americans aged 10 to 19, and ranked fourth for the 20-to-24 age group in 1976. These age categories represented one-fourth of all drug-related deaths during 1976. Although at present there exists a shortage of heroin in the United States, this accomplishment may be temporary. There is concern that as Mexican heroin availability declines, heroin from Southeast Asia and the Middle East will fill the gap. Some also fear that use of dangerous synthetic drugs will continue to increase as heroin users find that drug difficult to obtain.