Congress Enacts Strong Penalties for Sale and Use of Illegal Drugs - New Antidrug Law Wins Praise

Oct 13, 2026

Congress passed a new antidrug law aimed at reducing drug abuse in the United States by increasing penalties for drug-related crimes and weakening the supply and demand chain. The article explains current drug use prevalence, details border and maritime tactics used to smuggle drugs, and notes limits of enforcement efforts. It highlights funding shifts toward treatment and education, plus creation of a federal drug “czar,” with broad political support praised by national leaders.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

CURRENT EVENTS

New Antidrug Law Wins Praise

Mext week: Complete Elecion Resols and What They Mean

Stopping Supply

Cutting Demand

Wide Support

Hurricane Batters Nicaragua

# Congress Enacts Strong Penalties forSale and Use of Illegal Drugs No matter their politics,race,income,or age,mostAmericans stand united onone thing:We must stop thecancer of drug abuse that iseating away our nation.Fromhigh schools in Iowato busi-ness offices in New York,Americans are consumingmore drugs than ever be-fore.And this deadly tide ofdrug abuse threatens notonly our health but our veryfuture as a nation.Here arethe cold,hard,cheerlessfacts: More than 18 millionAmericans are regular usersof marijuana. At least 11 million Amer- # CURRENT EVENTS A policeman carries a load of marijuana afer a raid on afiold in Virginia. # New Antidrug Law Wins Praise icans are alcoholics. ● More than 6millionAmericans regularly usecrack or cocaine. ● More than 500,000Americans are heroinaddicts. Because most drug useis ilegal,it is hidden.Thisleads experts to believe thatthe actual number of regu-lar users may be higher,perhaps much higher.Alto-gether,the U.S.now con-sumes an estimated 60percent of all the illegaldrugs produced in the wordd.And to feed their habit,Americans shelled out anestimated $140 billion for ## Mext week:Complete Elecion Resols and What They Mean 5 drugs in 1987. ## Stopping Supply The epidemic ofdrug usehas led toahost of ills,fromincreased crime to wastedlives.In response to agrow-ing public outcry to act,theFederal Govemment in 1982begana“War on Drugs.”Thefocus of this program hasbeen to try to cut the suppyof drugs by sealing 0.S.borders. All of the cocaine and her-oin and 90 percent of themarijuana enters the U.S.from abroad-mainly fromLatin America.Smugglersbring drugs into the U.S.mainly by sea and by air.ThelongU.S.southern coastlinefrom Florida to Texas is dot-ted with hidden coves and oieho Drug obuse is a seriousproblem in the U.S. inlets-ideal places for boatsto drop drug cargoes undercover of night.Other drugsmugglers use airplanes.Taking off from isolated air-ports outside the U.S..smugglers fly low acrossthe U.S.border at night tounload shipments of mari-juana or cocaine at hiddendrop sites. In the past six years,abeefed-up fleet of U.S.CoastGuard ships and border pa-trols have seized many tonsof illegal drugs enteringthe U.S.Hundreds of drugsmugglers have been ar-rested.But this has hardymade a dent in the massiveflow of drugs across ourborders. According to a 1987 Gov- Contiued on Next Page CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 enment report,the supplyof illegal drugs has actuallygrown despite these efforts.Between 1986 and 1987,thesupply of cocaine grew by10 percent.Over the sameperiod,the supply of mari-juanajumped 26 percent andheroin rose 18 percent.Somuch more drugs are nowentering the U.S.says thereport,that the price hasdropped for a number of im-portanit drugs,stimulatingmore people to buy.Thestreet price for a kilogram so large,says the report,that"it is now beyond the abilityof any single government tocontrol." a federal death penalty for drug kingpins and oth- ers who kill or direct a kill- ing in the course of a drug related major crime; stiff fines of up to Cutting Demand $10,000 against users of Nearly everyone involvedin the war on drugs agreesthat efforts to cut the sup-ply of drugs entering the U.S.must continue.But,they say,it is only part of the solutionto drug abuse in America.The other part they say,iscutting demand-gettingAmericans to stop usingdrugs. even small quantities of il- legal drugs; more funds to states to establish drug treatment programs to help addicts get off drugs.The law says thata majority-55 percent-of the drug budget must go for treatment and antidrug education; ●afederal drug “czar” (2.2 pounds)of cocaine,hasdropped from $30,000 to$10,000 since last year.Theproduction and sale of drugsaround the world has grown Cutting demand is thefocus of a new law passedby Congress just before it ad-journed in October.The newlaw establishes with power to run the entir

FAQs

What is the purpose of the new antidrug law passed by Congress?

The law seeks to cut drug abuse by both reducing supply entering the U.S. and cutting demand among users through education and treatment funding, supported by harsher penalties.

How does the article describe efforts to stop the supply of illegal drugs?

It describes “War on Drugs” efforts focusing on sealing U.S. borders, with seizures by Coast Guard ships and border patrols, alongside a claim that supply has continued to grow.

What changes does the law introduce for drug treatment and antidrug education?

It directs that a majority (55 percent) of the drug budget go to treatment and antidrug education, helping addicts get off drugs, and it establishes a federal drug “czar” to coordinate the program.

Oct 13, 2026

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