The Tools at Hand: Surveillance Innovations and the Shifting Role of Federal Law Enforcement in Drug Control
Anne E. Boustead · The Knowledge Bank (The Ohio State University) · 2020
Although enforcement is a key aspect of any drug prohibition scheme, changes in enforcement capabilities frequently occur independently of efforts by policymakers to manage the sometimes-conflicting public health and law enforcement components of drug policy.Since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act ("CSA") in 1970, the surveillance tools available to law enforcement officers investigating narcotics crimes have become exponentially more powerful.By functioning as a force multiplier, these surveillance tools can fundamentally shift the ability of federal law enforcement to enforce drug laws, and consequently further augment the role of federal law enforcement in drug control efforts.However, the role of surveillance innovations in molding federal enforcement of drug laws has not yet been systematically analyzed in the context of the post-CSA policy environment.In this paper, I explore the relationship between efforts to enforce the regulatory scheme established by the CSA and the development of surveillance infrastructure in the United States over the last fifty years.I pay particular attention to how the role of the federal law enforcement in drug control has been shaped by advancements in law enforcement surveillance capabilities, and argue that efforts to understand the policy changes brought about by the CSA are likely to be incomplete unless they also consider intervening changes in surveillance capabilities.I conclude by discussing the federalism and policy issues raised by this analysis, and describing the implications for future efforts to reform the CSA.