The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) released its 2013 National Drug Control Strategy Wednesday. The strategy is being billed as a "21st Century Approach" to drug use and trafficking, but despite some rhetorical softening maintains the US hard-line approach to the issue.
"The president has outlined his vision of an America built to last -- where an educated, skilled workforce has the knowledge, energy and expertise to compete in the global marketplace. Yet -- for far too many Americans -- that vision is limited by drug use, which not only diminishes the potential of the individual, but jeopardizes families, communities and neighborhoods," ONDCP wrote on a blog post announcing the strategy's release and touting reductions in cocaine and prescription drug abuse as progress made.
"Today we are releasing a science-driven plan for drug policy reform in America to build upon this progress," ONDCP continued. "This 21st century drug policy outlines a series of evidence-based reforms that treat our nation's drug problem as a public health issue, not just a criminal justice issue. This policy underscores what we all know to be true: we cannot arrest or incarcerate our way out of the drug problem."
The strategy emphasizes treatment and prevention, but despite the rhetoric, the Fiscal Year 2014 federal drug budget it accompanies continues to be imbalanced, with 58% of federal anti-drug spending directed at law enforcement and interdiction efforts. That figure does mark a decline from previous years, but only a marginal one.
And even its emphasis on treatment also includes punitive criminal justice elements, such as its embrace of the drug court system, where drug-addicted people are subjected to legal sanctions for such addiction-related behaviors as failing a drug test or missing an appointment. That has some drug reformers calling foul.
"The administration says drug use is a health issue but then advocates for policies that put people in the criminal justice system," said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. "Until the Drug Czar says it is time to stop arresting people for drug use, he is not treating drug use as a health issue no matter what he says. I know of no other health issue in which people are thrown in jail if they don't get better."
While much of the strategy is little more than the same old same old, the strategy does call for expanded access to naloxone, a low-cost antidote that can reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. That is in response to the rapid growth in prescription drug overdose deaths in recent years.
"Director Kerlikowske should be applauded for taking steps to reduce drug overdose fatalities, but he's not doing much to reduce drug arrests or the many other problems associated with treating drug use through the criminal justice system," said Piper.
But while the drug strategy shows flexibility in its efforts to deal with fatal drug overdoses, it maintains a staunch opposition to marijuana reform and includes attacking outdoor and indoor marijuana cultivation as one of its key goals.
"The administration's continued opposition to marijuana law reform shows they're not serious about reforming US drug policy," said Piper. "At the very least they should stop getting in the way of states that are trying to improve public health and safety by regulating marijuana like alcohol."
Washington, DC
United States
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2013/apr/24/white_house_2013_national_drug_s
The White House
Office of the National Drug Control Policy
For Immediate Release
April 24, 2013
Obama Administration Releases 2013 National Drug Policy Strategy
Action Plan Details Support for Most Significant Expansion of Drug Treatment in America in Generations; Emphasizes Drug Policy Reform; Policies Treat Drug Addiction as Public Health Issue, Not Just a Criminal Justice Issue
(Baltimore, MD) - Today, Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy, released the 2013 National Drug Control Strategy, the Obama Administration’s primary blueprint for drug policy in the United States. The science-based plan for reform contains a series of over 100 specific actions to reduce drug use and its consequences and expand prevention, treatment, and alternatives to incarceration.
The programs and policy reforms set forth in the 2013 Strategy are built upon decades of scientific research demonstrating that addiction is a chronic disease of the brain that can be successfully prevented and treated, not a moral failure on the part of the individual. The Strategy directs Federal agencies to expand community-based efforts to prevent drug use before it begins, empower healthcare workers to intervene early at the first signs of a substance use disorder, expand access to treatment for those who need it, and support the millions of Americans in recovery.
The Strategy details actions to implement the most significant expansion of access to substance use treatment in generations. Through a new rule made possible by the Affordable Care Act, insurers will now be required to cover treatment for substance use disorders just as they would for any other chronic disease. Specifically, this new rule expands mental health and substance use disorder benefits and Federal parity protections for 62 million Americans, making it a key element in the Administration’s public health approach to drug policy in the United States.
The Strategy also contains action items in support of a “smart on crime” approach to drug enforcement, protecting communities from domestic and international drug-related crime while diverting non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of prison. As part of this approach, the Strategy highlights promising criminal justice reforms, including drug courts and smart probation programs that reduce incarceration rates, along with community-based policing programs that break the cycle of drug use, crime, and incarceration while focusing limited enforcement resources on more serious offenses.
“President Obama believes in the pursuit of an America built to last – a Nation with an educated, skilled workforce that has the knowledge, energy, and expertise to succeed in a highly competitive global marketplace,” said Kerlikowske. “For too many Americans, this future is clouded by drug use and substance use disorders, which inhibit the ability of our citizens to remain healthy and safe and to achieve their full potential. This plan represents a smarter approach to drug policy in America – one based on the premise that addiction is a disease that can be prevented and treated. We must address drug use as a public health issue, not just a criminal justice issue.”
“This Strategy demonstrates that the Obama Administration is serious about criminal justice reform,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “The President’s Strategy puts in place an approach which acknowledges that we cannot incarcerate our way out of the drug problem and that we have an obligation to expand ‘smart on crime’ approaches that place individuals, their welfare and dignity, at the center of drug policy in America.”
“For too long,” said Devin Fox, Executive Director of Young People in Recovery, “millions of Americans in recovery from addiction and their families, friends, and supporters—including young people like us—were absent from the debate about drug policy. Today, we are a powerful and growing movement, achieving real progress in lifting the stigma associated with substance use disorders and removing barriers to sustained recovery. The Obama Administration’s historic focus on recovery adds to the momentum we need to help shift our country to a recovery-oriented system.”
“Science should inform policy decisions about public health and safety in America,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. “Groundbreaking advances in addiction research have contributed to our understanding of addiction as a brain disease that can be prevented as well as effectively treated. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with ONDCP to ensure the policies set forth in the National Drug Control Strategy are informed by science.”
Overall drug use in the United States has dropped substantially over the past 30 years. In response to comprehensive efforts to address drug use at the local, state, Federal, and international levels, the rate of Americans using illicit drugs has dropped by roughly one-third since the late 70s. More recently, there has been a 50 percent drop in the rate of current cocaine use, and meth use has dropped by one-third since 2006.
To build on this progress and support the public health and safety approach outlined in the Strategy, the Obama Administration has requested more than $10.7 billion to support drug education programs and expand access to drug treatment for people suffering from substance use disorders. The FY 2014 Budget request also includes $9.6 billion for domestic law enforcement, $3.7 billion for interdiction, and $1.5 billion for international programs.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/news-releases/2013-national-drug-policy-strategy-release
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/drugpolicyreform
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my cynical brain makes conjuncture to follow.
the release today mentions rehab in conjunction with the affordable care act several times.
when the act was being "debated" i many times suggested the hidden consequences to marijuana users might include forced rehab if one is found to have "illicit substances" in their systems...
seems a step closer.
