The United States Extraterritorial War on Drugs

Abstract

This paper argues that the United States has effectively controlled the conceptualisation of drug issues, and has played a major role in the development of the international law relating to drug trafficking. This has led to the United States practice of extraterritorially asserting its anti-drug trafficking criminal laws. To do this it has had to expand the traditional principles of extraterritorial jurisdiction. As a result of the United States' disregard for international law, other nations are increasingly willing to subordinate traditional thinking to the perceived necessities of fighting the international drug war. An essential feature of the drug trafficking problem is its internationalism. Therefore, the United States will ultimately advance its drug control policy further by upholding principles of international law, and relying on the cooperation of other nations to combat what is, after all, a global problem.

Keywords: drug trafficking, United States, drugs