National Drug Control Strategy

Supply Reduction Agencies and Activities

The Department of Defense and the State Department work to combat drug producers and traffickers, as well as to reduce drug crops in countries involved in drug production. The Department of Homeland Security is involved in protecting the borders of the United States from drug trafficking through the activities of agencies such as Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Justice Department is provided funding under the NDCS to maintain agencies for example, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of Justice Programs, and the Interagency Crime and Drug Enforcement—that disrupt drug distribution and production. These agencies, among others, aim to interfere with drug production, distribution, and money laundering within the United States and other countries.

The NDCS has other focal points in continuing the process toward disrupting the supply to the drug market within the United States. By eradicating illicit crops, interdicting illegal drugs, and attacking drug organizations, the NDCS hopes to further reduce drug availability, which in turn would cause drug traffickers' costs to increase and reduce the overall profits associated with drug trafficking. By increasing the risk of arrest to drug traffickers, the NDCS attempts to deter traffickers from entering the market while also encouraging others to leave. The hope is that disrupting the drug market will result in less availability of drugs, a decline in purity, and an increase in the price of drugs within the United States. Proponents of these programs believe that interfering with the drug supply will reduce initiation of drug use and make it harder for users to sustain their drug dependencies.

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