ABSTRACT
This chapter examines level of significance of possible security threats posed by narcotics in terms of each state's physical safety, economic well-being, and culture. It explains conundrum of state actions by suggesting that a de facto regional regime has been created, challenging the international regime and external powers. Treaties from 1909 to 1988 established a narcotics international regime whose key principle is state sovereignty. The key norm is that every state has the right to determine which narcotic and psychotropic drugs will be permitted entry and that other states not allow exports unless entry is approved. The United States has been the foremost state endeavoring to gain narcotics control through efforts to limit their use to medical and scientific purposes. Narcotics threats to state security can come from illicit traffickers within the state, from other states in the region, or from narcotics abuse within. In South Asian countries, attitudes towards narcotics are far more relaxed than in the United States.
