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The Forgotten War on Drugs Nearly four decades after the United States declared a war on drugs, juvenile drug abuse is on the decline, but illegal narcotics remain cheap and plentiful. In a five-part series, NPR examines the progress of U.S. anti-drug policy so far, and where experts say it should focus next.
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The Forgotten War on Drugs

Colombia Steers Away from U.S. Plan to Kill Coca

The Colombian government reportedly has had it with the Bush administration's coca fumigation program. Coca hasn't been cut back, and cocaine trafficking continues unabated. The punitive approach also has driven poor farmers to grow more coca and to help the guerrillas. The state says manual eradication is far less venomous, and it is moving in that direction, quietly.

Colombia Steers Away from U.S. Plan to Kill Coca

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Drug Czar Blasted for Lack of Leadership

John Walters is the public face of the drug war, the nation's drug czar. But many activists blame Walters for a lack of leadership, and experts are concerned that the war on terrorism has pushed the war on drugs off the nation's radar.

Drug Czar Blasted for Lack of Leadership

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Release of Drug Offenders Strains Communities

In the 1980s and '90s, more than a million people in the United States were arrested each year on drug charges. Most went to prison. Now hundreds of thousands of inmates are returning to their neighborhoods, and many communities are collapsing under the burden.

Release of Drug Offenders Strains Communities

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Winning the War on Drugs One Life at a Time

In America's war on drugs, more federal resources have gone into foreign operations and law enforcement than into demand reduction at home. But policy experts, community activists and recovering addicts say only a combination of strategies will work.

Winning the War on Drugs One Life at a Time

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Deep in the Colombian Jungle, Coca Still Thrives

For seven years, the United States has sprayed a deadly defoliant on Colombia's coca fields. Some credit the program with a sharp drop in violence in that nation. But in remote, lawless regions, cocaine production — and the violence it entails — remains strong.

Deep in the Colombian Jungle, Coca Still Thrives

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War on Drugs Hasn't Stemmed Flow Into U.S.

Despite decades of U.S. interdiction efforts, cocaine, heroin and other illegal drugs still stream into the country. Critics say America would improve its chances of "winning" the war on drugs if it revamped anti-drug policy to focus more on stamping out demand.

War on Drugs Hasn't Stemmed Flow Into U.S.

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