On the 75th anniversery of the repeal of alcohol prohibition, outgoing (not fast enough) Drug Czar John Walters claimed that if nothing else, President-Elect Obama could change nothing about our nation's drug policy. Most Americans who know Walters claim that if nothing else, President-Elect Obama could change our drug czar.
I have a few more specific observations, "realities" if I can be so bold, about the Office of National Drug Control Policy and American drug policy in general.
1. The ONDCP is flawed in its organizational design, the effectiveness of its policies, spending and goals, and finally its institutional accountability or communication of its activities.
2. Enforcement spending succeeds at dispersing some drug production, prosecuting some trafficking networks, and intercepting significant amounts of illicit drugs from the public. However drug production levels continue to meet demand, or elicit greater profit for dealers and cartels, which have consistently shown an ability to spend, gather information, and evade authorities at any level of enforcement spending. Widespread availability of drugs remains unchanged after 35 years of the “war on drugs.”
3. Treatment spending is inadequate given its greater per dollar value effectiveness than punitive actions. Supplying quality addiction treatment is cheaper than prison costs, and more likely to stop drug use and lower recidivism. Drug courts are a positive step, but cannot determine between serious addiction and casual use. So the hundreds of thousands of arrestees retain criminal records and are to often shoehorn into inadequate treatment “classes” that do not help addicts.
4. The ONDCP repeatedly insulates or outright ignores criticism general oversight from government agencies, independent scientific study, public scrutiny, and the opinions of foreign governments and NGOs.
5. While ONDCP may be acting in good faith towards laudable goals of a drug free society and safe streets without a violent narcotics trade, its behavior is neither accomplishing these goals, nor effectively adapting its strategy for greater success. As drug use rates have gone up and down under the ONDCP’s tenure, with no general change in priorities this only strongly suggests that in ONDCP’s current form is ill-suited to sustain long term effects in drug use.
6. These failures are a result of a number of factors that include hasty conclusions on the part of lawmakers, government bureaucrats, and special interest groups all with a greater interest in strong social messages than effective policies. Fault also lies with a passive media and public who are easily lead to alarm and drama, but become uninterested in specifics about effective methods of treatment or enforcement.
As we move forward, I hope people will think about the long term effects of a policy that hasn't achieved success after 35 years, and push newly elected officials to act in the interest of policy, and not a ideological message.
