176. Minutes of the Working Group of the Cabinet Committee on International Narcotics Control1 2
Ambassador Vance, in the chair, opened the meeting by welcoming Acting DEA Administrator Henry Dogin as a new member of the Working Group. He then proceeded to comment on the agenda items:
I. Congressional Concerns
Ambassador Vance informed the Working Group that, unfortunately, the Senate Appropriations Committee had cut $10 million from the FY 1975 international narcotics funds and that the House Committee had gone along with the cut. He indicated that the program was regarded by the Senate Committee as vulnerable because of a fairly large portion of unprogrammed expenditures as late as February. He reported that the current status is healthy; 80% of the FY 75 funds were obligated before June 1 and there was no problem in spending the balance prior to the end of FY. For the FY 76 request, we have reported to the Congressional Committees that all of the $42.5 million requested is already programmed. This was partly due to the fact that some of the FY 75 programs had to be postponed until the next year. He indicated that under these circumstances we have lost flexibility for the coming year. Worse, any cuts in the requested $42.5 million would indeed harm the program. Ambassador Vance stated that he had noted some “bad vibes” from the Appropriations Committees. This he thought was in part due to the general situation, with the Administration’s policies and actions in the drug field continuing to be criticized both in the press and on Capitol Hill. He added that the Appropriations Committees had specifically expressed concern over the amounts of grant equipment being provided foreign law enforcement agencies as well as what they called the inordinate U.S. share (78%) of total contributions to the U.N. Fund for Drug Abuse Control. Comment had also been made, he said, that in the face of a drug abuse problem with [Page 2] annual costs of some $10 billion, our international effort was merely “spitting in a fire storm.” Thus on the one hand there were complaints of doing too much and on the other of not doing enough.
Ambassador Vance then indicated that things in the drug abuse field really are better now than they were during the peak years of the heroin problem (1970–1971), but that apparently Congress does not see this. He mentioned that a better story must be told as to the achievements of the program, e.g., the Turkish ban, the breakup of the French Connection, general progress in enforcement activities, progress in the Mexican program and a breakthrough in Burma. In connection with Burma, delivery is imminent of three of the six helicopters slated for Burma and that three Burmese officials will shortly visit the United States to exchange ideas on narcotics control.
Ambassador Vance welcomed the current Domestic Council study as a useful project which could help allay the Congressional anxieties and misconceptions about the international narcotics control program.
Mr. Murphy (AID) underscored Ambassador Vance’s comments regarding criticism of budgets on the Hill and said that AID is anticipating a rough time.
Mr. Horan (NSC) asked whether Congress had been made aware of the Domestic Council Study on Drug Abuse. Mr. Johnson (OMB) responded that a number of key Congressmen had been notified of the Study, that there had been a number of other official revelations of the project, therefore a formal White House announcement would not be issued.
Still on the topic of Congressional criticism, Mr. Kennedy (CIA) referred to a recent GAO report on the Latin American area which he said was critical of our efforts. He made specific reference to GAO’s criticisms of inadequate utilization of intelligence and an apparent concentration on small time traffickers.
II. The Turkish Situation
Ambassador Vance announced that after a prolonged round of intricate negotiations, agreement had been reached between [Page 3] the United Nations and the Government of Turkey on the establishment of a U.N. contingency fund to guarantee the price for poppy straw. This was concluded on June 2 by an exchange of letters under which the U.N. Fund agreed to support a guaranteed price of 18 Turkish lira per kilogram of unlanced capsules, with the liability of the Fund for the 1974–75 crop year limited to $4 million. Announcement of the agreement had been withheld pending the announcement of the Government of Turkey of the official buying price. Such announcement was made by Prime Minister Demirel on June 10. Demirel also took the occasion to reiterate that the incision of poppy capsules is prohibited. Ambassador Vance indicated that the U.N. announcement of the arrangement with the Turks is expected momentarily.
Ambassador Vance then made the following points:
- —Turkish inspection teams are active in the poppy growing provinces and are supplemented by local Jandarma troops.
- —The 75 jeeps provided by the United Nations have been delivered and are currently being used in the growing regions.
- —Unlicensed over-plantings had been destroyed.
- —The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has completed and submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office a study recommending the formation of a G.O.T. centralized agency with overall responsibility for coordination of the Turkish program.
- —Developments are under way for an eventual alkaloid factory in Turkey.
On the contingency fund, Ambassador Vance indicated it was on balance a successful piece of negotiation. He said while 21 lira as top of the sliding scale is high, it has the decided advantage of encouraging a high level of cooperation from the Turkish farmers. We will not know the extent of the U.N. liability (within the $4 million limit) until we know the sales value of the poppy straw on the market. Anything below 18 TL (the U.N. support price) would constitute that portion of the Fund’s liability. The Turkish Government would absorb the difference between 18 TL and whatever price [Page 4] (up to 21 TL) is actually paid to the Turkish farmers.
Mr. Horan (NSC) made reference to correspondence addressed to the President from Congressman Rangel and indicated that the President was being briefed on the Turkish poppy situation in connection with his effort to persuade Congress to lift its ban on military aid to Turkey. Ambassador Vance informed the Group that Congressman Rangel had not only written to the White House and a number of agencies around town, but had also written to the Turkish Embassy in Washington for a status report on the Turkish control situation.
III. Marihuana
Ambassador Vance referred to actions in Alaska and Oregon toward decriminalization of marihuana and pointed out that there was an appropriate interest on the part of the Working Group in the impact any change in our Federal Government’s policy could have on the International Control Program. He said the recent decision of the Alaskan Supreme Court to legalize possession and use of certain amounts of marihuana had elicited a sharp reaction by the Mexican Attorney General. Upon hearing of the Alaskan decision, he immediately queried our Embassy in Mexico for an explanation as to the implications. The Mexican Attorney General went so far as to hold a press conference to announce that even if the United States did weaken its stand on marihuana, Mexico would not. Ambassador Vance also reported on the unfavorable reactions of Germany, France and Belgium to a move on the part of the Netherlands to decriminalize and even further liberalize marihuana. He indicated that legalized (as distinguished from decriminalized) cannabis would call for an amendment of the 1961 Single Convention. A number of countries, in which marihuana and hashish are bigger problems than the opiates, would take a dim view of any move to change our policy.
Mr. Dogin (DEA) reported that Attorney General Levi has not as yet made a determination for the Department of Justice on the marihuana question. He said the Attorney General had recently met with Senator Javits to discuss the Javits/Koch Bill currently under consideration. Mr. Dogin said the Attorney General had informed Senator Javits of the deep concern on the part of the Mexican Government over this issue and that Senator Javits appeared to appreciate the [Page 5] point. DEA is preparing a paper recommending a position to the Attorney General. Following this, the Department of Justice will take up the matter with the White House. Mr. Dogin said the Attorney General was mindful of the implications a change in our marihuana policy could have on the international program and that he (Levi) certainly did not want to do anything hasty. Ambassador Vance commented that a decision should be reached on this fairly quickly, certainly before the next CND meeting.
IV. Licit Supplies
Ambassador Vance indicated that because of the recent tenuous supply/demand situation for opium, there was some talk of a U.S. capacity for Papaver Bracteatum. He indicated that he is not convinced that such a program would be a wise one for the U.S. to pursue. Quite apart from the abuse potential (which is unclear), there would be serious problems with the international balance of legal production and legal demand. Also, India is but one of the countries for which a U.S. productive capacity would be most unsettling. He also reported on his conversations with the delegates of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Thailand during the last CND meeting who had expressed their countries’ interests in alleviating the current opium pinch by going into production. The great problem here, Ambassador Vance related, was the inability of these countries to control. He emphasized the dangers of excess production, inadequate controls, and the consequent increase in illicit trafficking and the abuse potential. Mr. Johnson (OMB) said that he was in basic agreement with Ambassador Vance. He pointed out that the recent AMA Symposium and Senator Bayh’s Committee hearings on the opium supply situation did a good job of de-fusing some of the emotions surrounding this problem. Johnson said his analysis is that there would not be a shortage this year and that the supply/demand situation also looked acceptable for 1976. The main concern of importers, he said, is not supply, but high prices. He indicated we would be quite correct to resist moves to grow Bracteatum on the grounds of price alone, in his opinion.
V. No member present voicing any other comment, Ambassador Vance closed the meeting with remarks in defense of the U.S. contribution to the U.N. Fund for Drug Abuse Control, an item which certain members of the Congressional [Page 6] Appropriations Committee had worried about. He said he had stated that any effort to put a ceiling on the U.S. share would be a classic case of “cutting off your nose to spite your face.” He cited the recent negotiations between UNFDAC and the Turkish Government as being a fine example of how the Fund was needed to negotiate a solution to a vitally important and complex problem which we had trouble approaching on a bilateral basis. He stated that the final $1 million of our FY 75 $5 million allocation to the Fund would be released shortly.
- Source: Ford Library, Parsons Files, Box 19, Cabinet Committee on International Narcotics Control. Confidential. Drafted on June 13 by Lawrence (S/NM). The minutes were forwarded to committee representatives on June 16.↩
- The Working Group discussed Congressional concerns about CCINC program content, the situation in Turkey, marijuana policy, and the status of licit opium supplies.↩