Pubdate: Thu, 04 Oct 2012
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Gil Kerlikowske

THERE ARE MANY THINGS TO CONSIDER IN U.S. DRUG POLICY

Regarding Bret Stephens's "The Weekend Interview with [Mexican 
President] Felipe Calderon" (Sept. 29): There are several additional 
facts worth considering about drug consumption and policy in the U.S.

First, cocaine consumption in the U.S. has declined significantly by 
every measure. New data on drug use recently released from the 
Department of Health and Human Services found that 1.4 million 
Americans in 2011 were current users of cocaine-about 0.5% of the 
population. Compare this to 2006 when 2.4 million people were current 
cocaine users (about 1.0% of the population).

Further, there is no indication that former cocaine users are turning 
to methamphetamine. In fact, according to the new data from HHS, 
methamphetamine use continues to decline. In 2006, 731,000 
individuals were current users of methamphetamine compared with 
439,000 current users in 2011.

Drug use isn't just a problem in the U.S. I have visited drug 
treatment centers in Colombia, Peru, Guatemala and Mexico. Brazilian 
officials have also recently cited an increase in crack cocaine use 
among the Brazilian population. We agree on the importance of 
decreasing the demand for illegal drugs, and we're aggressively 
enacting policies that seek to reduce drug consumption here in the U.S.

We should remember that drug cartels are funded by multiple revenue 
sources, such as human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion and 
intellectual-property theft. Since transnational criminal 
organizations don't rely solely on drug trafficking as their only 
source of income, they would not disband if drugs were legalized.

As each nation decides its own drug policy, we welcome the 
discussion. We believe that a comprehensive and balanced approach 
that uses the power of prevention, treatment and the resources of our 
public-health and criminal-justice communities is key to reducing the 
problem of drug use.

Gil Kerlikowske

Director

White House

Drug Policy Office

Washington
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom