ely $300 to $500 per kilo to produce in clandestrine labs in the United States and abroad and sold on United States streets for up to $60,000 per kilo.The so-called "War on Drugs" seizures of illegal drugs have little effect on the industry. Current drug interceptions only stop 13% of heroin shipments and 28% to 40% of cocaine shipments (Zill). Between 1984 and 1999, the number of defendants charged with a drug offense in Federal courts increased from 11,854 to 29,306; 65% of those charged had been previously arrested, 16% reported being an importer, grower, or manufacturer, and 25% reported they were street-level dealers (Federal Drug Offenders). In the past decade, federal and state law enforcement agencies have seized over $48 billion in drugs, cash, and assets. The government has not been tackling the major sources of illegal drugs in the United States and only seems to arrest growers, users, and sellers, not those in charge. The government should learn to target the source of drugs and also provide better education to young people.The highest rates of illicit drug users are found among older teens. In 1999, 22% of tenth graders and 26% of twelve graders had used an illicit drug in the past month (America's Drug Users). Twenty to Twenty-one percent of young adults age 18 to 20 reported using an illicit drug within the past month. The highest drug using ethnic population is Native Americans and those reporting mixed races. In 1999, 8.7% of men and 4.9% of woman were illicit drug users (America's Drug Users). The most commonly used drug is marijuana, with 11.1 million users in 1999. The use of marijuana has remained almost constant throughout the 1990s. There was also about 1.5 million cocaine users in 1999, representing 7% of the population.The federal government's planned expenditures on illegal drugs for the year 2002 is an estimated $19.2 billion, compared to 2001's budget of $18.1 billion. The government plans to spen...
