The Nation : Drug Case Seizures Urged

State and local governments should consider expanding the kinds of property their law enforcement agencies may seize from suspected drug dealers, a study by the Justice Department said. “Forfeiture (seizure) laws make it possible to go beyond the seizure of illegal drugs and take away the profits and working capital of drug dealers,” said a study by James K. Stewart, director of the department’s National Institute of Justice. The study said that while state and local prosecutors and police rank drug traffic as their most serious enforcement problem, “use of forfeiture . . . is still relatively limited.” In 1983, the federal government, which has more expansive seizure powers than most states, confiscated more than $100 million in cash and property.