In the context of strategies used in drug enforcement in the United States, explain crop eradication and the problems associated with its implementation.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Crop eradication is a tactic employed by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. However, the only crop targeted by local police agencies is cannabis (marijuana) because it is the only major illegal drug grown in the United States. Because cannabis eradication intervenes at the beginning of the trafficking process, in theory it should have the greatest potential for eliminating or at least significantly reducing marijuana availability and use. In practice, however, a number of problems reduce the effectiveness of the eradication strategy. First, large quantities of marijuana are generally grown in remote, largely inaccessible areas. This makes locating and destroying crops by hand difficult, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and dangerous. Second, spraying crops with chemicals can be hazardous to people, water supplies, animals, and vegetation. Third, even when crop eradication is successful in one area, a new crop can easily be grown in another area. The huge profits that can be made from a marijuana crop create a powerful incentive not to be deterred by eradication efforts.