Source Control Research Paper

Source Control is a law enforcement objective designed to either slow down or stop the various methods of illicit drugs entering the U.S. from foreign countries (Levinthal, 2012).According to Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice, "source control requires activities aimed at limiting the cultivation and production of illicit drugs in foreign countries", (Levinthal, 2012, p. 116). There are three methods of Source Control known as crop eradication, control of precursor chemicals, and the U.S. certification process (Bethel, 2012).

First, crop eradication is merely locating crops that produce illicit drugs and destroying them. Similarly, cocoa plants that are transformed into cocaine, opium poppies that are transformed into heroin, and marijuana …show more content…
Every illicit drug, except cannabis, must be associated with another chemical or additive before reaching it's finished product stage. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is tasked with monitoring large shipments of precursor chemicals locally and internationally (Levinthal, 2012). Furthermore, the Chemical Diversion Act (CDA) is tasked with monitoring precursor chemicals but was limited to monitoring powder and chemical forms rather than a capsule or tablet form, and was determined to be faulty and incorporated the assistance of the DEA. The increase of ephedrine, used in methamphetamine, raised many questions as to how it was infiltrating the U.S. and going unnoticed until the discovery was made that it was being imported in capsules and tablets (Conlan, 1991). Another example is DEA's "Operation Purple", of which is designed to monitor South America's manufacturing of cocaine.This method is highly debatable as third-party countries continue to ship various precursor chemicals in various forms to the U.S., and deters monitoring as the destinations and purposes of these chemicals are extremely difficult to monitor (Levinthal, …show more content…
Certification Process is merely a process in which the U.S Government assesses the cooperation of other countries regarding the war on drugs and what principles foreign countries apply to counter drug efforts. The U.S. Certification Process was enacted by Congress in 1986 and requires the U.S. President to compile a list of foreign countries that are either a major illicit producing country and/or a drug trafficking country (Levinthal, 2012). Furthermore, each country listed is categorized into three categories. First, the country is compliant with the U.S. counter-drug mission and that country is considered to be certified. Second, the country is noncompliant with the U.S. counter-drug mission and that country is decertified. Third, the country is noncompliant to the U.S. counter-drug mission but remains certified due to vital U.S. national interests. If a country is decertified, monetary assistance and funding is withheld until the U.S. President makes the determination the country should be recertified (Levinthal, 2012).

In theory, each method aforementioned do not reflect as a definite solution to stop or reduce illicit drugs from reaching around the world. As mentioned earlier, when one area stops manufacturing and growing, the process only moves to another area. Regardless, historical evidence has proven that drug dealers will continue to deal drugs and will only relocate and transition to new methods as to how they conduct their illegal

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