Necessary Alliance: Developing a Regional Multi-National Counter-Drug Center to Stem the Flow of Cocaine in the Americas

Abstract : This research paper examines the history behind the advent of cocaine as a controlled substance, the historical information as it applies to the production and movement of cocaine throughout the Americas, the need for a revamped regional counter-drug strategy, and culminates with the proposal that the best corrective action is in the form of a regional counter-drug center. The establishment of this center combines the current goals and objectives of the U.S. State Department, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the existing national level strategies targeting the production and distribution capabilities within the source and transit zones of this hemisphere. In summary, it provides a clear requirement for the creation of a regional multi-national counter-drug center in an effort to expand the regional interdiction of illicit drugs.