SENATOR COLLINS HAILS ENACTMENT NORTHERN BORDER COUNTERNARCOTICS STRATEGY LAW
President Obama today signed the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010 which will help law enforcement officials along the northern border stem the flow of illegal drugs coming into communities. U.S. Senator Susan Collins pushed for the stepped up enforcement along the Northern Border.
The law requires federal law enforcement to develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan to blunt the illegal drug trade. A recent Government Accountability Office indicated that a wide swath of the northern border needs additional attention to prevent illegal cross border activity.
"I am concerned about the potential for increased production, smuggling, and trafficking of narcotics into Maine. Methamphetamine, in particular, is a growing problem, and increasingly meth and its precursor chemicals are being smuggled into Maine from Canada. This new law will help those in our law enforcement community, who are on the front line in the war on drugs, do their jobs more effectively," said Senator Collins.
"This legislation is important to many law enforcement professionals in Maine. I am pleased that our bill has been signed into law."
The Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010 amends the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 to require the Director of National Drug Control Policy, in consultation with the head of each relevant national drug control program agency as well as relevant state, local, tribal, and international governments to submit to Congress a counternarcotics strategy for the northern border. The bill will also:
• Set forth the strategy for preventing the illegal trafficking of drugs across the international border between the United States and Canada;
• Delineate the specific roles and responsibilities of the relevant National Drug Control Program agencies and the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement of DHS for implementing the strategy;
• Identify the specific resources required to implement the strategy; and
• Set forth a strategy to end illegal drug trafficking to and through Indian reservations affected by northern border drug traffic
The northern border of the United States is hard to monitor due to its length and geography and is often exploited by a diverse array of traffickers. Increasingly international traffickers have used Indian reservations as a staging ground for narcotic operations throughout the country.
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The law requires federal law enforcement to develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan to blunt the illegal drug trade. A recent Government Accountability Office indicated that a wide swath of the northern border needs additional attention to prevent illegal cross border activity.
"I am concerned about the potential for increased production, smuggling, and trafficking of narcotics into Maine. Methamphetamine, in particular, is a growing problem, and increasingly meth and its precursor chemicals are being smuggled into Maine from Canada. This new law will help those in our law enforcement community, who are on the front line in the war on drugs, do their jobs more effectively," said Senator Collins.
"This legislation is important to many law enforcement professionals in Maine. I am pleased that our bill has been signed into law."
The Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010 amends the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 to require the Director of National Drug Control Policy, in consultation with the head of each relevant national drug control program agency as well as relevant state, local, tribal, and international governments to submit to Congress a counternarcotics strategy for the northern border. The bill will also:
• Set forth the strategy for preventing the illegal trafficking of drugs across the international border between the United States and Canada;
• Delineate the specific roles and responsibilities of the relevant National Drug Control Program agencies and the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement of DHS for implementing the strategy;
• Identify the specific resources required to implement the strategy; and
• Set forth a strategy to end illegal drug trafficking to and through Indian reservations affected by northern border drug traffic
The northern border of the United States is hard to monitor due to its length and geography and is often exploited by a diverse array of traffickers. Increasingly international traffickers have used Indian reservations as a staging ground for narcotic operations throughout the country.
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