A Lost Cause: The War on Drugs as Portrayed in the Movie Traffic

The nation's thirty year old drug war is uneconomical and unable to be won due to its nature and expansive scope. The distribution and widespread use of narcotics can only be fought with education and health-care, not imprisonment. The incompetence of this fight is portrayed and reinforced from several different viewpoints in Traffic (2000). When the target of war is as broad, vague, and intangible as "drugs", many difficulties arise. The definition of "The War on Drugs" can be extended to mean war on family members, society, recreation, personal freedom, and morality.

The enemy is ambiguous and indistinct, and in most cases, one step ahead of our current techniques and technology. The budgets of leading drug cartels are as infinite as the revenue they can potentially collect each year. The vast market and soaring demand for these substances does not help the situation. In Traffic, we are shown the difficulty and sacrifice involved with such a war, and left to decide for ourselves whether or not we are headed in the right direction.

The War on Drugs cannot be fought on only one front. The reality of the situation is that a majority of the United States' drugs are smuggled across the border from other countries. This means that in order to fight an effective war, each country must possess equal levels of determination and professionalism. Traffic highlights the incongruence among law enforcement agencies in Mexico and the United States as a major weakness. Big time drug smuggler Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer) tells DEA agents after being captured in a sting operation: "In Mexico, law enforcement is an entrepreneurial activity."

This quote deeply contrasts a main difference between the United States and Mexico. If police officers in Mexico do not receive full backing and support from their federal government, it is unlikely they will obtain the resources and intelligence needed to put an end to the narcotics trade. Mexican State Police Officer Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Benecio del Toro) personifies the entrepreneurial nature of Mexican law enforcement right at the start of the movie. Javier and his partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas) manage to arrest drug smugglers in the middle of the desert. However, they are the only two officers responding, there is no backup and no assistance from Federal agencies.

In order to stop drugs being smuggled across the border, both the United States and Mexico must work closely together, pooling intelligence and forming collaborative plans to destroy the major drug cartels. Without this intimate cooperation, the drug smugglers do not stand a chance of getting caught. So when the primary law enforcers in one country are amateur at best, the superior training, intelligence, and resource capabilities of the United States are going to waste.

The dissimilarities between Mexico and the United States do not stop at the quality of law enforcement. Traffic depicts Mexican officials at the forefront of the drug war as insensitive and ignorant with no desire to redesign their tactless plans. One of these officials is General Arturo Salazar (Tomas Milian). In a meeting with General Salazar, newly appointed drug czar Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas) asks about Mexico's policies towards treatment of addiction. Salazar's response is not encouraging: "Treatment of addiction? Addicts treat themselves. They overdose and then there's one less to worry about." Clearly the drug situation in Mexico does not rank high on the list of priorities.

Treatment of addiction is an enormous aspect of the War on Drugs, and some would even agree it is possibly the most important. When a main partner to the United States has not even bothered to form any official policy regarding treatment, the viewer can sense the current state of affairs is not promising. If the United States really wants to win the War on Drugs without completely redesigning their battle plan, they must first at least make sure that their allies are as concerned about the situation as they are.

If all members of the alliance are not determined and willing to channel tremendous resources at the problem, there is a great chance for weaknesses to be exploited by well-informed drug cartels. This type of exploitation is described by Ruiz in the movie as he talks about the mathematical calculation of risks and the percentage chance of being caught at various points on the border. Drug cartels are shown to be more methodical and organized than the people trying to stop them, and this successfully portrays a major dilemma in a lengthy list of problems with the current War on Drugs.

Despite the inability to execute a coordinated effort among allied countries, there are still many obstacles that would have to be overcome even if everything was equal on both sides of the border. Drug cartels are at the head of a billion-dollar industry. The profits gained easily justify the risks involved and the money spent on reducing these risks. Several dialogues in the movie support this theme. One of Wakefield's advisors explains that the intelligence of the cartels far exceeds the intelligence of U.S. agencies.

A Customs official tells Wakefield a new chemical process will make it impossible to detect cocaine, and they are unsure if it has already been used or not. Dialogues like these offer ominous facts and information that continue to express the futility of the situation. So even if Mexico and the United States were properly coordinated, there is no way they would be able to accumulate adequate funding or intelligence to rival the cartels.

Leading drug organizations will make every attempt to secure their operation; before, during, and after the transaction. A frightening example of this is presented in the trial of Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer) who has been indicted on drug-trafficking charges. Ayala is a key member of the Tijuana cartel. In order to protect their interests, Ayala's wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) has a hired an assassin (Clifton Collins, Jr.) to murder the primary witness testifying against Ayala. Without the witness, the judicial process grinds to a halt and Ayala walks away free. This scene shows just how easy it is to exploit the system.

Even with all of the money, resources, and intelligence at the disposal of anti-drug agencies, as soon as one man dies, the judicial system is rendered useless. Our current policies and courts are not outfitted to handle drug cartels and the drug war in general. They are easily deconstructed and taken advantage of. If the same path is to be taken to fight this war, not only do allies need to coordinate, but they all must upgrade their laws, policies, and judicial systems to make sure all loopholes and exploitable factors are completely eliminated. It is unfortunate that the chances of this happening are very unlikely due to the extremity of this overhaul.

Politicians often have a difficult time selling ideas that incorporate massive change. In general, people are afraid of any type of change, especially dramatic and revolutionary ones. In order to make the necessary changes to our systems and policies, it would have to be done gradually over a long period of time.

Even if the allies coordinated, the systems were reformed, and unlimited resources were available, the demand for narcotics would remain unchanged. This is perhaps the most crucial element of the equation. The United States government has an obligation to protect their citizens. Security is offered in exchange for the sacrifice of some personal freedoms. This tradeoff is a cornerstone of successful government and has been since throughout history. However, every year non-violent drug users are imprisoned for crimes such as simple possession. Lives are destroyed because people make the decision to use drugs.

The War on Drugs focuses on the cartels and smugglers, with education and treatment on the backburner. If people were educated properly, without the use of fear-mongering or one-sided propaganda, they could be relied on to make their own intelligent decisions. If demand for narcotics decreases, we no longer have to worry about obtaining unlimited resources to battle organized cartels. The drug problem would take care of itself. The other part of this system involves the treatment of those who have already fallen victim to drugs. If they are rehabilitated properly, these people should never turn to drugs again.

Rehabilitation is a very arduous undertaking for a person with a drug problem. In order for it to be effective in treating the addiction, it must be intimate and personalized. Each case must be considered individually so time is not wasted on treatment techniques that will not benefit the person. The chance of successful rehabilitation will increase if the treatment plan is tailor-fit to an addict's needs.

Robert Wakefield's daughter is an example of a youth who makes a series of wrong decisions for a variety of reasons. One contributing factor is her apparent lack of education about the consequences of drugs. Caroline Wakefield (Erika Christensen) is a stereotypical teenager growing up in the wealthy suburbs. Her father is the nation's drug czar and therefore spends little time with him due to his hectic schedule. She copes with the boredom of her trivial suburban life by experimenting with drugs, which is not an uncommon escape for many people her age. Once her addiction develops, her parents panic and ship her off to a rehabilitation center as quick as they can, trying to take the path of least resistance and confrontation. Uneducated teenagers are not the only problem here; it is also the uneducated parents who are unsure of how to deal with a situation of this magnitude.

Their hasty actions prove to be ineffectual as Caroline escapes from the treatment center and ends up selling her body for drugs. In this situation, proper education and treatment could have prevented the problem. If Caroline had been taught the consequences of her decisions by not only her teachers but her parents, she would have had more information to base an intelligent decision on. If her parents had educated themselves about Caroline's situation, they would have maybe taken a different course of action in terms of getting her professional help. They would realize that Caroline no longer has the ability to be trusted with her own rehabilitation. Simply sending her off to a therapy camp will not guarantee results. If the treatment center revised their methods to be more effective, Caroline could've been rehabilitated successfully.

The movie suggests that the therapy camp is not successfully communicating with Caroline. She often seems distant from the group and it is apparent that her mind is intent on finding an escape. If the treatment program were more specific to her needs, there would be a better chance of her finishing the program and being successfully restored to health. At the end of the movie we are shown the education and treatment aspects actually working. Robert Wakefield tells the members at one of Caroline's treatment meetings: "My name is Robert. And my wife, Barbara and I are here to support our daughter Caroline. And we're here to listen." Robert is finally educating himself. Attending meetings with his daughter reinforces the treatment aspect. Caroline's final speech makes it seem as if everything will turn out okay in her life.

The War on Drugs is being fought in all the wrong ways. Instead of educating people and providing appropriate health-care to those who are overcome by drug addiction, the United States has decided to go after cartels and dealers. While some are caught, most are not. Throughout all of these convictions, users still manage to get their hands on the drugs they demand. The only difference is that more tax dollars have been wasted and in some cases, peoples' lives. During an interesting conversation with DEA Agent Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle), Eduardo Ruiz asks Gordon to consider the consequences had they not captured him. His argument is compelling. People who are getting high anyway would get high, and his partner would still be alive. Ruiz's argument is simple and therefore convincing and easy for a viewer to understand and relate to.

It is clear that Ruiz is probably right. If the effort that went in to capturing Ruiz was directed towards the addicts that his drugs are delivered to, the situation would look a lot more promising. The addicts wouldn't need their drugs, Ruiz would go out of business, and Gordon and his partner would not have to worry about being killed by cartels that are seeking to facilitate their operation. It is quite despicable that the government feels they can continue to waste our money on the same tactics that haven't worked for the past thirty years. It is time to revolutionize the War on Drugs if it is to be taken seriously.

The War on Drugs must be fought with prudence and common sense. If the drug dealers and drug users can understand the situation, why is it that the government has continued to be selectively blind to many realities of the War on Drugs? Traffic shows us that successfully fighting cartels and drug smugglers can never be fully achieved. This movie, however, is not a case for legalization of all drugs. Many people believe that is the answer to the drug problem, but these people do not possess intelligent foresight and are generally very naïve and ignorant of the facts. Legalization would just lead to rampant crime, drug addiction, and amplification of the current problems. On the other hand, imprisonment is not the answer either. Imprisonment is not a sufficient substitute for rehabilitation. Not only are our tax dollars wasted on fighting an indomitable enemy, they are wasted keeping friends and family members in prisons for partaking in a non-violent crime.

That is a lot of money going to waste, which could be redirected to methods that would actually help solve the problem. We need to channel these funds towards new methods of education and revitalized health care and treatment systems. At least there is a finite amount of money required for these initiatives. It is common sense that if a certain method hasn't worked for decades, it is time to reevaluate the situation and adjust the plan accordingly. Decriminalization should also be a major part of any new system that is instituted. This will free up the crowded prisons that are letting rapists and murderers free early because room needs to be made for the recreational marijuana users. The current War on Drugs is a lost cause. If the United States chooses to remain on the same path they will only experience continued failure and frustration. It is time for change, and hopefully someone at the top will realize this before it is too late.