One of their solutions to curb the use of cocaine was to limit its entry into the country while driving up the price. It was a matter of basic supply and demand. The administration needed to work with the officials of the countries where the supply came from to (for lack of a better term) strike a deal to restrict the amount of the drug that was being let into America. If the supply of the drug was limited, then naturally the price would sky rocket. Since the price of the drug was so high, it stands to reason that the use of it would be severely limited because only the wealthy people could afford it. The problem with this is that many countries in which the plant used to make cocaine was cultivated had people that relied on this as their livelihood. So, to limit the supply was difficult because it would weaken the economy of the other countries.

What is bothersome about this administration is that some of the administrative laws to curtail the entrance of certain drugs in this country seem to be unethical. It appears that the laws are created in favor of the wealthy, but that they are severe for some of the same infringements against the poor. Without doing extensive research, it was determined that one drug is harmful than others because of the side effects. The underlying issue to all of this...

The laws are far more lenient and seem to assist those who have the means to obtain a drug that is considered not as harmful as another. Yet, the laws are stricter when it comes to drugs that as long as they are in the poor communities do not really posed any major threat. However, once this drug makes its way out of the ghetto and into the middle and upper class citizens then it has become a major problem.
While there should be laws that govern the use and abuse of drugs, they need to tailored to citizens as a whole and not geared toward which drug is considered for the wealthy and which his not. When laws are created in this manner, it appears the United States is working alongside other countries and saying it is okay to supply us with this drug, but only in small quantities because if there is a large supply then everyone will be able to afford it. Once this happens the country will have a serious drug epidemic on its hands. Instead of playing favorites, more drug treatment centers should be established and the enforcement of harsh penalties need to be applied to any individual caught bringing illegal drugs into this country, no matter what type of drug it is. This would make the legal system fair and equitable for all.

Bibliography

Hemmens, C., & Walsh, A. (2010). Civil and Administrative Law. Law, Justice, and Society: A Sociolegal Introduction (2 ed., pp. 107-155). New York: Oxford University Press, USA.

Musto, D.F. (2002). The Ford Administration and the end of Accommodation. The Quest for Drug Control: Politics and Federal Policy in a Period of Increasing Substance Abuse, 1963-1981 (pp. 140-184). unknown: Unknown.