Vol. 3 No. 6 (June, 1993) pp. 57-59
DRUGS, LAW AND THE STATE by Harold H. Traver and Mark S. Gaylord
(Editors). New Brunswick, N. J.: Transaction Press. 1992. 176 pp.
Cloth $32.95.
Reviewed by Dean G. Rojek, Department of Sociology, University of
Georgia.
This slender work is comprised of nine essays on drug control
policy from a cross- cultural perspective. These essays were
originally prepared for a conference on crime, drugs and social
control held at the University of Hong Kong in 1988. The nine
essays presented in this volume are divided into three sections.
Part I is entitled "Drug Control Policy and the State;"
Part II is entitled "The Political Economy of Drugs;"
and Part III is entitled "Future Directions."
Collectively this book purports to represent an analysis of drug
policy in the United States, Scandinavia, Spain, Finland, Hong
Kong, Japan, and one essay focuses on the international character
of drugs and organized crime. Because of the disparate nature of
the topic and the unconnected nature of the individual essays, a
summary review is difficult to formulate but an attempt will be
made to assess the merits of the individual essays.
In Part I, "Drug Control Policy and the State," four
papers examine drug control policy in relation to the interests
of the state. In the first essay by William J. Chambliss,
entitled "The Consequences of Prohibition: Crime,
Corruption, and International Narcotics Control," the
argument is set forth that the failures of the prohibition era
have become institutionalized in drug legislation enacted since
the 1930s. International cartels have emerged and the economies
of entire nation-states have become dependent on illicit drugs.
Drug profits have risen to the point that the illicit drug
enterprise has become on the most important industries in the
world. Chambliss presents an intriguing argument that the U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency has long been implicated in drug
smuggling in order to finance the purchase of military weapons
that have been clandestinely shipped to insurgent groups in
Nicaragua and Iran. He suggests that the only way to attack the
issue of corruption and the rampant use of drugs is to have some
form of legalization. Chambliss acknowledges that this will not
solve the problem but it will cut back on corruption and allow
the medical community to become more involved in drug treatment.
The next three essays in Part I are less stimulating than
Chambliss' discussion but still provide an informative
examination of the drug problem from a European perspective. The
essay by Jergen Jepsen is entitled "Drugs and Social Control
in Scandinavia: A Case Study in International Moral
Entrepreneurship." Scandinavia is being subjected to
significant international pressure to mount a "war on
drugs" and see drug use as a social problem. In the 1960s
the Scandinavian countries took a tolerant position regarding
drug involvement but in 1968 legislation began to emerge and
criminal penalties for the use of illicit drugs became
progressively more severe. Concerted international pressure
calling for a "drug-free Scandinavia" has led to a
progressive increase in prison sentences for drug trafficking.
Jepsen suggests a certain moral panic regarding the use of drugs
and a growing sense of international solidarity. For countries
that have a more liberal tradition in the area of drug control,
an international moral imperialism is threatening the hegemony of
those countries that do not share the tough-minded, "crime
fighting" approach toward drug use. Jepsen concludes with
admonition of the dangers of a "storm trooper"
mentality that is becoming to be the hallmark of the
international community in the area of drug control.
Axel Reeg in his essay "Drugs and the Law in Post-Franco
Spain" gives a glimpse of the extent of drug use in Spain.
With strong ties to Latin America and its close proximity to
North Africa, Spain has become a major market in drug
trafficking. Stiffer penalties for drug trafficking have been
added to the criminal code in response to the perception of a
growing drug problem. Surprisingly, there is increasing
discussion of legalization in Spain but Reeg does not give a
clear indication where Spain is headed in the matter of drug
control. Reeg's essay is far too
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cryptic and does not add any new insights to the overall theme of
the book. Similarly, the fourth essay in Part I by Ahti Laitinen
entitled "Finnish Drug Control: Change and
Accommodation" is quite descriptive but does not add
intellectual weight to the book. Finland does not seem to have a
major problem with illicit drugs, and Laitinen states that the
harm caused by drug use is relatively small. As with the previous
essay, few new insights emerge other than descriptive information
on drug legislation and drug use in Finland.
Part II of this volume in entitled "The Political Economy of
Drugs" and contains four papers that examine the
political-economic nexus of the drug trade industry. Mark S.
Gaylord in his essay, The Chinese Laundry: International Drug
Trafficking and Hong Kong's Banking Industry" asserts that
Hong Kong is the source of much of the world's supply of heroin.
Chinese triads or secret societies play a central role in
narcotics trade as skilled chemists. Hong Kong's banking industry
serves as a major conduit for drug money and according to Gaylord
has become the "Switzerland of Asia." This financial
industry is augmented by a vast army of attorneys who specialize
in international business and finance. Hong Kong's banking laws
ensure that records and accounts are confidential complicating
any "paper trail" in switching funds from one account
to another. Gaylord describes many ingenious aspects of money
laundering in Hong Kong that gives drug traffickers almost
complete safety. One wonders what will happen to this vast drug
industry in 1997 when the Chinese take over control of Hong Kong,
but Gaylord does not speculate on this point.
Masayuki Tamura's essay on "The Yakuza and Amphetamine Abuse
in Japan" is enlightening if for no other reason than so
little is discussed about drug problems in Japan. The Yakuza is
something of a nationwide crime syndicate. Japan's drug problem
is primarily in the area of stimulant abuse and the Yakuza are at
the center of a highly-organized stimulant distribution system.
The second half of Tamura's discussion entails several interviews
with dealers but little insight is gained from these interviews.
In a concluding section, Tamura briefly discusses the low
probability that drug abuse will be decriminalized. First, the
Yakuza stand at the center of Japan's drug network and seem to
effectively police the use and distribution of drugs. Secondly,
the Japanese themselves do not see drug abuse as a major problem
and are reasonably content to leave the law enforcement system
alone. Finally, the average Japanese citizen fears and respects
the power of the Yakuza and any police action against this
entrenched crime syndicate is not likely.
The third essay in this section by Ernesto Ugo Savona is entitled
"The Organized Crime/Drug Connection: National and
International Perspectives." The main thesis of this
presentation is that drug trafficking operates on an
international level and surpasses the policing capabilities of
individuals countries. Traditional approaches to combat organized
crime have not worked because of a lack of international
cooperation. Savona's comments are hardly original and fail to
add anything new to a complex phenomenon of global social
control.
The fourth and last essay in this section is by Harold Traver
entitled "Colonial Relations and Opium Control Policy in
Hong Kong, 1841-1945." The focus of this discussion is how
the Hong Kong government initially developed a strong dependence
on the sale of opium and then after 1945 suddenly developed a
punitive stand on drug trafficking. Initially the sale and
distribution of opium became a government monopoly after the
Second Opium War (1856-58). However, an anti-opium movement began
in the late nineteenth century and international pressure was
brought to bear on the Hong Kong government. In 1943 the Hong
Kong government re-classified opium as a dangerous drug and
restricted its sales and distribution. Unfortunately Traver does
not spell out in any great detail precisely how opium was
transformed from a revenue-producing substance to a dangerous
drug. The reader will hunger for more information than the glib
response that "colonies are especially sensitive to outside
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pressures."
The final section of the book is entitled "Future
Directions" but contains only one brief essay. John Galliher
in a concluding chapter "Illegal Drugs: Where We Stand and
What We Can Do" proposes several practical and gradual steps
that the U.S. government could take in addressing the drug
problem. Alcohol and tobacco are serious drugs but yet are
relatively immune from any concerted law enforcement policy.
Similarly, powerful drug lobbies have protected amphetamines and
barbiturates from effective legal control. Marijuana on the other
hand has been traditionally a target for drug enforcement.
Galliher asserts that continued prohibition of marijuana results
in the loss of tax revenues and the potential use of this drug in
medical research. Heroin use is decreasing possibly because of
increased use of cocaine but Galliher does not elaborate to any
great extent what implications are to be drawn from this. No
sooner does Galliher wet the appetite of the reader but then he
concludes. In his conclusion he argues that "many drug
control policies have been irrational and
counterproductive." He suggests that gradual
decriminalization might be the only logical avenue, followed by
gradual legalization.
Overall the contribution of this volume to the understanding of
the drug problem worldwide is mixed. Some of the essays are
intellectually stimulating and present new and innovative
approaches to the drug phenomenon. Other essays are far too
underdeveloped or reiterate what is already known. The volume
itself is far too brief to adequately address the drug problem
but is further hindered by the uneven quality of the individual
essays. This is not to infer that these essays are to be
dismissed but rather that they do open some new areas in the
general topic of drug control. However, the book barely dents
where it should provide breakthroughs in addressing this topic.
Copyright 1993