Pubdate: Tue, 17 Mar 2009
Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Copyright: 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Contact: http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/encryptmail.pl?ID=CFF0C5E4
Website: http://www.csmonitor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/83
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/people/Gil+Kerlikowske

OBAMA REBALANCES US DRUG POLICY

His Drug Czar - Seattle's Police Chief - Knows The Need For Treatment 
And Enforcement.

By nominating Seattle's police chief as America's next drug czar, 
President Obama looks as if he's going for a balanced approach to a 
stubborn problem. As a policeman, Gil Kerlikowske understands 
enforcement. As stepfather to a son with a record of drug charges, he 
also understands the importance of prevention and treatment.

Only by squeezing on both ends - the supply and demand of illicit 
drugs - can America make headway in this decades-long battle.

The Bush administration did much on the supply front. It doubled 
funding for antidrug programs overseas and developed the 2008 
"Merida" initiative to support Mexico and other Central American 
countries in fighting drug gangs.

A December report by Stratfor, which analyzes global trends, 
concludes these efforts are starting to pay off. Antinarcotics 
crackdowns in Columbia and Mexico are "making a big difference" and 
supply is "drying up." But the progress carries a high price. In 
Mexico, nearly 7,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence 
- - much of it between cartels - since the start of last year. That 
violence now threatens the American Southwest.

Wisely, Mr. Obama supports Merida, and wants Mr. Kerlikowske to 
develop a southwest border strategy. To work, that strategy must 
include stopping the flow of US guns to Mexican drug cartels. The 
traffickers pay "straw buyers" to buy guns from US dealers, then 
transport them south. But stopping this won't be easy given the power 
of the US gun lobby.

During the campaign, Obama judged the war on drugs "an utter failure" 
- - harsh words. But while the number of high-school-age kids using 
illegal substances has fallen recently, the US still has some of the 
world's highest rates of illegal drug use. The number of those jailed 
for drug offenses has soared from roughly 50,000 in 1980 to 500,000 in 2007.

With Kerlikowske, the administration wants to beef up drug prevention 
and treatment, which took a funding hit in the Bush years. At his 
nomination ceremony last week, Seattle's top cop said success depends 
largely on reducing demand - a point Mexico makes.

To do that, America must make far more use of drug courts, which 
divert nonviolent offenders to treatment instead of prison. 
Kerlikowske rightly praises these courts, which reduce recidivism and 
restore lives.

Kerlikowske will have to be careful he doesn't appear to be "soft" on 
illegal drugs. Seattle, for instance, is home to the annual 
"Hempfest," which police tolerate. That stance reflects a Seattle 
vote to make marijuana enforcement a low priority for police - a law 
Kerlikowske opposed. And it also doesn't help the "war on drugs" 
image that the White House has bumped the drug czar from a cabinet position.

Both Kerlikowske and Obama need to remind Americans that neither of 
them supports marijuana legalization (as Hempfesters do), and that 
shoring up treatment and prevention is not going squishy on drug enforcement.

Whether the administration will be able to seriously curtail demand 
remains an open question, in large part because so much of this fight 
takes place at the local level. But the Obama team is right to move 
in this direction and address the demand-side of the drug equation.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom