by C. Peter Rydell and Susan S. Everingham

RAND Corporation, 1994 The 1994 RAND study on controlling cocaine provides a powerful argument for increasing U.S. drug treatment programs.It is often cited in the debate on the effectiveness of the "drug war." This study depicts both past and future trends in cocaine consumption. It also provides the first systematic method of comparing the cost effectiveness of cocaine control programs. The RAND study is a "modeling study": it analyzes the data of other organizations. The study revolves around the central question of how the government can effectively allocate the drug budget. It presents a model that estimates the relative cost-effectiveness of four cocaine-control programs: "source control," "interdiction," "domestic law enforcement," and "treatment." Three of these approaches are clearly "supply control" programs aimed at stopping the influx of drugs into the country, and commonly associated with law enforcement. The "source-control" program refers to the strategy of attacking the drug supply from abroad (primarily Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia). The "interdiction" approach is aimed at stopping drugs at the U.S. border. The "domestic law enforcement" approach is geared towards the arrest and imprisonment of drug buyers and sellers within the United States. These law enforcement approaches were analyzed and compared to the treatment approach, and the question is asked: "How much would the government have to spend on each approach to decrease cocaine consumption in the U.S. by 1%?" The results show that treatment is overwhelmingly the most cost-effective way of reducing cocaine consumption and its resulting social costs. In brief, the RAND study shows that treatment is 7 times more cost effective than domestic law enforcement method, 10 times more effective than interdiction, and 23 times more effective than the "source control" method. The RAND report is not available online. To order "Controlling Cocaine: Supply Versus Demand Programs" by C. Peter Rydell and Susan S. Everingham, contact: RAND

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