Homeland Security Show | Episode 6

Drug Legalization and Its Potential Affect on Homeland Security, Crime and Drug Use 

Two of the most prominent experts in illicit drugs discussed the President’s 2012 Drug Strategy released last week alongside his trip to Colombia (overshadowed by the U.S. Secret Service debacle). In his meetings, President Obama was pressed by the Colombian President to reconsider drug legalization. Obama balked at the notion, and his strategy has been dubbed the “same old same old” by the legalization advocates.

However, my first guest, Calvina Fay of Drug Free America, spoke at length about the President’s new emphasis on the medical science of addiction as a step forward and drug courts (not legalization) as the most effective way to hold abusers accountable and force treatment when health is seriously at risk. Ms. Fay also spoke of the connectivity between drug legalization and homeland security, crime and drug use. Professor Fay is recognized by the United Nations for her work and was received Presidential honorary awards as a pioneer in anti-drug science and education. Find Professor Fay in the New York Times here.

In the second half of the show, Mike Braun, former Chief of Operations and Intelligence for the Drug Enforcement Agency who has worked narco-terrorism around the world, discussed how terror organizations like Hezbollah are increasingly relying on drug monies, not Iran, to fund their operations. Much of these drug monies have been laundered through the U.S. in post-9/11 financial arrangements created by Hezbollah. In addition, drugs from these organizations, working with Mexican and Colombian cartels, continue to enter the U.S. in heavy volume. Read Mr. Braun’s March 2012 testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee on the threat of Hezbollah to the U.S., and south of the U.S. border, here.

Homeland Security Show