ABSTRACT
Efforts to decriminalize marijuana use in the 1970s were partially successful, and many in drug law enforcement believed that the decriminalization or legalization of cocaine was virtually inevitable. Drug law enforcement efforts will never be successful if constrained by national borders. The ultimate objective of the United States drug law enforcement effort has been to create a worldwide capability and willingness to attack drug trafficking organizations with a system that is transparent to national borders. Law enforcement agencies have expanded their role into nontraditional areas and perhaps most importantly have become a source of influence for change in terms of new legislation, new techniques, and more open sharing of intelligence. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) predecessor agencies began a formal international law enforcement training program in the 1960s. DEA worked with a federal task force in South Florida, as well as with officials in the Cayman Islands, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Panama, Spain, and Switzerland.
