Pubdate: Mon, 19 Jul 2010
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2010 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/lettertoed.cgi
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: R. Gil Kerlikowske
Note: R. Gil Kerlikowske is director of the White House Office of 
National Drug Control Policy.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Gil+Kerlikowske

RESHAPING APPROACHES TO DRUG USE

We need community-based prevention and intervention, says R. Gil Kerlikowske

"This is a struggle that will cost time, resource, and, 
disgracefully, human lives and, unfortunately, the loss of brave 
policemen, soldiers and sailors who sacrificed their lives for the 
safety of all Mexicans." Mexican President Felipe Calderon spoke 
these words last month in a national television and radio address, 
asking his countrymen to support his efforts to break up the drug and 
crime cartels that terrorize his nation. It was a message to the 
United States as well as to the Mexican people. Calderon boldly 
stated that demand for drugs - primarily in America - fuels much of 
this violence.

I share his sentiments. Our nation's demand for drugs seems 
insatiable. Each day, 8,000 Americans consume an illegal drug for the 
first time. Approximately 23 million suffer from substance abuse or 
dependency. Drug overdoses are fast approaching car crashes as the 
leading cause of injury and death; one in eight weekend nighttime 
drivers on U.S. roadways tested positive for illegal drugs.

Some have called for legalizing drugs as the way to end the killing 
in Mexico and the "drug war" here. While legalization may appear to 
be a simple solution, it is also simply wrong.

Legalization would increase drug availability and reduce price. More 
drugs, at lower cost, would increase U.S. drug demand. Cartel 
violence in Mexico would increase, as they would continue to sell 
their products, undercutting legal prices and using their 
distribution networks to deliver and sell to the still lucrative U.S. market.

If legalization is the wrong choice, how do we make our nation 
healthier, communities safer and our relationship with Mexico stronger?

Some parallels can be drawn by looking to Colombia, which struggled 
for years because of drug trafficking and violence. With American 
support and strong leadership from President Alvaro Uribe, Colombia 
is seeing reduced cocaine production while public safety and security 
have greatly improved. U.S. cocaine use has also fallen - the 
National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed significant declines in 
use by 18-to-25 year olds in 2007 and 2008.

As I said shortly after being sworn in as director of National Drug 
Control Policy, I reject the term "war on drugs." This term is an 
inapt metaphor for our nation's struggle with drug use and its 
consequences. We are not at war with our own people. Rather, we seek 
to confront drug use at its core - through prevention, law 
enforcement, treatment and strong international partnerships.

Our strategy is a blueprint for a fundamentally different approach to 
drug policy, one that emphasizes prevention, treatment, recovery, 
enforcement and renewed international collaboration. It stresses 
community-based prevention - local strategies to combat local drug 
problems. It involves health professionals screening for drug 
problems and intervening early in primary healthcare settings.

It argues for access to effective treatment within the criminal 
justice system - because more than half of all arrestees test 
positive for drugs. Drug offenders leaving jail or prison should 
receive services, like housing, health care and job opportunities, to 
aid their re-integration into society.

The strategy emphasizes domestic law enforcement, border control and 
international cooperation. Each of these approaches is essential, but 
none, in isolation, fully addresses a challenge inherently tied to 
our nation's public health. Our strategy sets us on the path to a 
more balanced, integrated approach, and it can work.

Rather than legalizing drugs or solely using law enforcement tools, 
we must make appropriate use of every tool at our disposal. If we do 
so, we will make our country stronger, our people healthier and our 
streets safer.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake